Heaven's Angel
by Scarlet Faux
Summary: A revamp of what was, the guys find themselves up a river without a paddle until Trowa lets himself fall into capture to spare the others sometime. Now with an escape, enemys after his life, and an odd hostess, life as he knew it wasn't isn't as planned.
1. Prelude

.-:::1:::-. 

Duo's soft groans came and went as the youth lay in a restless sleep, the sounds echoing to and fro across the long abandoned farmhouse. It was the only place that could pass off as a shelter of sorts for the three refugees in it's tattered walls. It's all Trowa and Heero could manage while they passed most of the time in silence, listening to the sheets of rain fall and pelt the lands; dried and cracked by long droughts.

Trowa's eyes kept absently at the distance, as if to try and decipher it through his thoughts. Their original plan was to gather with each other and meet at the rendezvous point just a few miles outside of the city. From there, they'd use the Galileo Base and their generously offered (or rather, permanently borrowed) shuttle that would send them back to space to retrieve their gundams from Howard's care. It seemed simple enough.

Then again, he was sure Duo hadn't intended any more than the others had to get himself caught in the crossfire of a nasty ambush, leaving the boy temporarily disabled with a possibly infected side-wound. Carrying him in that rain was just not an option. Not logically, or a very good idea in general, considering the already strained patience of both healthier pilots.

The mood of the cabin was desolate, a sour one with no chanced thought of a smile, the only words spoken were the ones that Duo managed to utter from time to time. They weren't much, he might ask for the little water they could manage--or give notice of how often he was frozen or much too hot.

And it was Heero who tended to the boy, keeping all side comments to himself, leaving Trowa on guard, before even the silence became too irritable for the normally stoic pilot.

"You think they managed to find one of our trails too, don't you?" Came the quiet question as Heero took a seat beside Duo's makeshift bed along the soggy and cracked floor boards. It was hard to find a dry spot in a house which only had half a roof, if you put all the spread pieces together.

There was only a soft nod in exchange at first, then after choosing his own words carefully, "It's no doubt they've got a good hold on our direction while we pulled back. It's hard to hide yourself when you're moving that fast... There's a good chance they'll be right outside come daybreak, just waiting to invite themselves in for a good chat."

Trowa's sarcasm hung heavily on the last words, rare, but he was rather aggravated with himself as it was, let alone their new problem at hand. Still emerald eyes grazed the thick rainfall as if to catch any hidden intruder. Not likely, but it was an attempt at self defense. However, his mind began to wander again, his arms shifting a little in their crossed hold, relaxing their strict form to let a deep sigh pass behind the chest, long and slow. Yet again, as Duo stirred, it went unnoticed to the youth as he let his preoccupied mind drift past the highlighted streaks sparkling against the little moonlight between the clouds.

As time went on, it was harder to keep up this crusade, to be the martyrs against the world and keep kidding each other it was for the best of mankind that the five boys and their "followers" continue their role in this war. Did he want to? Hell no. Who does?' came the scornful thought. Would he continue? Most likely,' was the usual answer, somehow the role seeming right, it was all he'd known for such a long time so why break tradition? Still the hardest question he still couldn't answer was, could he force himself to believe that tomorrow or even weeks from now? Why should I? Heero himself told me the only way for a person to lead a life they wouldn't regret--is to follow what they feel; to follow the emotions of their heart. What do I honestly feel without kidding myself?'

Emerald eyes lingered a moment, slowly lowering their gaze half-heartedly to the small whining form in the corner, vaguely focusing in on the wounded "god of death". Was he fighting with them, or for them? Or both? And why? He thought a little while longer and realized he hardly knew them. They didn't know much of him, well, for what could be explained. There were still keys that would unlock vital doors of his own past if he only had the keys himself.

There were hundreds upon hundreds of unanswered questions, not only for the one they knew as "Trowa Barton", but for each of them about themselves and each other. Now was not the time to dawdle on them as the reserved teenager seemed to be doing and Heero knew that for the might, until his mind cleared, he was nearly useless unless his attention was demanded.

"If you're keeping watch, the window's to your right and up at eye-level, Trowa. Not the floor. And if not, I'll keep watch and you can tend to Duo."

Trowa's eyes shot up and held a level, steely composed gaze with the Japanese boy, letting the tension of another span of silence drift between them, thick as if in challenge. However, he was the first to break the gaze, not pushing the subject any further. Heero was right no matter how his quiet pride wanted to protest, and he turned his eyes back to the window. Painstakingly, he forced them to observe and memorize every little detail of his surroundings just on the other side of that glass, no matter how vague or distorted by the rain they appeared.

"Is his fever breaking?" was all he managed, pushing his own thoughts back again for now.

Heero was still wary of Trowa and his behaviors, especially with his new reactions. For as long as he'd known the boy, he'd observed that most everything, if not everything, was done in a composed, logical, meticulous manner. Each problem or obstacle was dealt with as if it were a game, and he were the emotionless puppet on a string--playing along to the best strategy for each scenario. With the last few days that had come to pass, though, a turmoil would flash itself from time to time behind the blank mask Trowa wore. Often they were violent flashes like flames in a desperate attempt to snatch away at fleeing air, to break their boundaries. He was just waiting for that heat to build, those flames to grow until they burst... and Trowa would become someone very different for a time. Hopefully, only a short time.

Still, steady hands went back to the pitiful form, removing the makeshift compress and wetting it again in a puddle that collected on the floor off to his side, most of the hardwood floors warped and rotting beneath them even now.

"Not yet. It's not as high as it was, but his side's still bleeding off and on. If it doesn't stop, we won't have a choice besides finding a hospital. Or letting him die, which for the time, can't be an option," trailed the words from the Japanese lips on which they fell over, each syllable blunt and final. Emotions were best kept in reserve until after the war, when peacetime came. If he lived that long.

A rustle of clothes and a soft click instantly drew the attention of the perfect soldier from his acknowledgment of thoughts. Silent eyes shot to the somber youth who'd backed from the window face to it's side for cover, the cold metal of a handgun glistening just out of sight. It appeared that company wouldn't wait until morning. Still, as he kept his own stance low to the floor, his eyes never leaving the scrutiny of the emerald ones that gazed just to the other side of the glass, he spoke in a whisper that was all but muted by the raindrops splattering around them.

"Scouts, or are they all here? We might be able to..."

Trowa gave a soft shake of his head to his companion, never taking his eyes from the moving forms he could see just beyond the shadows. He'd let them get too close in his own thoughts, dammit, but for the moment, that wasn't the key point of this new situation. He'd deal with his own ignorance later.

Instead, a steady hand held his gun at the ready, knowing those soldiers had more than just their point-men watching the movements of the house and they'd invade and use shelter, if not look for all possibility of smoking out the little mice from their meek haven.

"Too many... he won't make it on his own, and we don't have the numbers to cover all of them."

Heero listened, laying a gentle hand calmly over the groaning lips of the American boy, leaning closely to whisper to him for silence in the middle of their new dilemma. That's all they needed now was for Duo to give into one of his delirium fits and start screaming away their only cover. When he was sure the boy understood, he moved from his spot and slunk towards the window, looking out as best as he could without being seen. Four or five men wandered carefully about the outskirts of the house, and who's to say there weren't a few dozen more just out of sight?

"If you sneak out with him now--" but his words were again cut off, just as instantly.

"I'm the better sharpshooter. Give me Duo's gun and take him. I can buy you more time with less bullets. It's all we've got and losing one is better than losing three right now. Besides, you're the only one that dares pilot that nuisance of a Zero System, Heero."

Heero's thin lips parted a moment as if to speak, not nearly as certain on Trowa's suicidal idea as he seemed to be. He knew he couldn't compose himself, he couldn't be as sharp, fast, or agile as he normally was, which worsened the odds. That was, if any of them would make it out of this little escapade alive.

"Trowa," came the warning tone.

The name went unnoticed as the Latin teen's eyes narrowed and spared his comrade a second's glance before faintly motioning with his outstretched hand as if to accept the gun he was yet to be given on request.

"Give me his gun and take him," is all he repeated.

Heero knew time was precious and of the essence, and that there was no use persuading him. It'd be useless to try and by the time any decision could be made that he'd be comfortable with, they'd all be captive or dead.

"You better know what you're doing," came the cold response.

He crouched low and snatched the gun from Duo's resting side, handing it off reluctantly as he moved to help the weary youth to his feet along the slippery ground, using as much cover in the shadows as he could scrounge for. Oddly, the broken storm that stood above them let much more light through it's uneven sides than he welcomed, and wanted the shadows as if it were a cloak he could pull over the both of them and hide, if only he could reach his fingers a little further and grasp it.

Duo's navy blue eyes fluttered a moment, his heavy, pained breathing softened as much as he could unbearably manage, his tongue stinging while he bit it to keep his silence. This had to be his last resort method to try and find himself a last minute vacation in their hectic war.

Remind me not to book this road trip again,' he jested tired to his usually active mind, a shudder racing the length of his body. He could already feel the tease of winter wind breaking through the tattered walls, all waterlogged and giving no warmth with their rank and rotting scent of decrepit wood.

The scent of snow was already on the air and it surprised Duo to see rain instead, but he knew it wouldn't last long. Earth was nowhere near as controlled as the colonies... one day it could be a tropical paradise and the next, a winter dungeon. Great, that's all they needed.

Heero stood in waiting, holding his comrade around the waist; not nearly as gingerly as he could, but now as he could hear an unnatural crack of a hidden branch or the carried voice of the enemy on he wind, his muscles tensed in the somber yet anxious moment.

Seconds ticked away in the distance, seeming slow to reach them as time dragged its leaden feet numbly over the waiting earth, as if years were passing in their stead. Steaming breaths rose in the fiery cold winter air, uncontrollable to their owners, but the sounds of those fugitive breaths were restricted to near silence.

Maybe they'll pass on, there's a small town not so far off from here, just southward,' came the faint thought peaking its timid being around the back of Heero's mind, attempting to sparkle just the smallest hope. They're not idiots, not complete idiots, they'll sweep everything in their path,' came the cruel logic, tearing the small hope to little shreds in ruthlessness. He'd learned long before those small wishes could cost more than just an embarrassing mistake.

Prussian eyes held those deadly emeralds, like a spring loaded panther just waiting to leap from death's grasp if only once more. A small not was all the verification that passed between the two healthier teens, and remorsefully, it was all that was needed.

Heero kept close to the darker confines of the house and helped his companion duck out a broken door frame, keeping both his eyes and mind now focused on a dark patch of wooded area where they could lose their trail and escape to that same small town to find their refuge. Still, tense body waited in sick anticipation to feel a searing pain scorch through his flesh, leaving tattered rags in its wake before embedding a white hot bullet deep into his own body where it might leave him useless if not dead.

Though he tried, Duo wasn't nearly as silent, or as quick in his exhausted and stiff movements as the Japanese boy at his side.

Let's face it, Yuy's a fricken' psycho more than half the time, of course he wouldn't let anything like this slow him down. Perfect little hot shot, he's either gonna kill me or leave me here because we're not all like the "immortal one"...,' Duo's thoughts rambled, fueling his own body in their escape.

Scouts of the OZ faction slunk about, wet and miserable but relentless in the breaking sheets of rain, keeping their watch on the assigned house, long since faded from its elegance and past the point of simple condemning. However, movements seemed to stir just within his sights, as if in a welcome wish for a one way ticket to a good warm bed and dry clothes.

"There's movement inside the house, unnatural shadows observed and unidentified. Stand ready."

The order was ironically soft into his headset as the wind howled like a raging banshee about their heads, thunder cracking, the heavy gray skies bawling from their endless starry eyes.

Water laden glasses were all but useless, slipping teasingly down the long, thin bridge of the soldier's nose and as his sniper rifle was raised to his shoulder, not only to use the scope, but to pinpoint the possible enemy, his second hand spared a moment to readjust the cold lenses back into a sensible position.

Like little peaks on water ripples sparkle in mimicry of the sunlight's bright face, so the lenses of the soldier caught the smallest hint of moonlight in the passing storm overhead, giving a second's breath of time to reveal him.

The motion went unnoticed as the hunter found his kill, his key prize escaping the back section of the crumbling building. Two Gundam Pilots, backs turned and no seeming alert to the OZ soldier's quiet attention.

"Checkmate, boys..." came the smirking turn of words while cross-hairs turned their objective to the supporting youth of the duet. One shot and they'd be his. However, sights lowered to the leg; catch one, and little children will tumble.

Trowa had but seconds after he spotted the enemy at first to clear and compose his mind, readying himself for battle. As always, his discipline readied him successfully as he kept close tabs on his targets' positions.

"Twelve bullets--make them count, Barton," was the soft coach, a stomach-turning realization of how horribly hopeless this was. Well, then again, he always had the oddest of luck to have survived this long. What's one more shot? Worse case scenario--death. He'd already become accustomed to it. Still, emeralds caught sight on the smooth flash of glass against light and with a faint squint, made out the assassin in the darkness.

"No you don't, Heero, hurry it up," tumbled in a hopeless plea of a phrase to nothing but the air and no one but himself. It's time to break hell's gates wide open.'

The aim was quick and dead on as the first shot exploded from the small handgun. He could hear the dull and faded thump of a body fall back against the ground, cold and silent.

As expected and hated, all attention was turned back onto the house as shots rattled and opened from those that caught just enough of the original enemy position to retort.

In a quick dive beneath the window to the far side opposite his sniping position, he simply gritted his teeth and moved further from the return fire, trying to find the next gaping hole he could fire from himself. He had the upper hand. Well, sort of. He knew generally that his obstacle carried a few dozen men, if not a few dozen more than that, and already knew he was outmatched in sheer power for this battle. Still, his opponents would hopefully be slow to realize that it was only him inside those walls, and not a hidden army of his own.

As the shots quieted, he eased himself into a better position before firing off another two or three rounds, taking out almost every target. One escaped, one bullet wasted.

Heero took no time to dawdle or hesitate, all but fully carrying Duo now with him as he eased them into an icy cold, slow river, trudging along through it and ignoring the chattering complaints and whines at his side. They had to hide as many tracks as they could.

Duo's eyes fluttered back open and wide at the instantaneous feel of the biting liquid around his shins, ripping at his already frozen flesh. At points, the bed of the wide, shallow river would drop off, or catch itself in a stronger, pushing current and throw him off balance. I hate this damn war, this son of a bitching fighting, and this fucking psycho putting me through this god-forsaken mess!' came the brutal rage streaming in a whirlwind round and round about his mind. What were they, escaped slaves trying to lose their scent from coon dogs in the days of plantations?! He felt like it. "Brilliant idea, Mr. Perfect," was the feisty, low growl.

"Just shut the hell up or I will kill you, Duo. I do still have my gun with me, or I have other ways," was the bitter retort, long past it's end of patience. He wasn't enjoying this any more than Duo Maxwell was, but what choice did they have? "He can't buy us more than minutes right now, so quit wasting them."

Crunching twigs and wet wads of leaves being kicked up signaled that they were no longer alone, and Heero helped Duo to the bank where the river had created itself a deeper ravine, allowing them a small hidden inlet to duck into. The thick overhang of the muddy, root netted wall gave a welcome break in the fiery cold drizzle that still fell on them, stinging the flesh it touched.

In their silence, Heero could hear his companion shaking and chattering away, unable to restrain the noise as he saw Duo fight for his consciousness. Again, the ratty bandage along Duo's lower stomach, he observed, was a deep hue from its light denim color that Heero'd sacrificed his jacket for.

Duo gritted his teeth but the motion only lasted a moment or so, before he could hold it no longer and his breaths echoed the sound of his chattering teeth all over again. He was already losing feeling in his legs, whether from blood loss, cold, or both, he wasn't sure. Surprise struck him as he felt an arm encircle his waist, moving his own weak hand over his wounded side and replacing it with a strong, firm hold. He had to bite back his cuss as the footsteps approached, but gave into the closeness of the moment and rested back against Heero's strength. Instead, he hugged his own arms around his numbing body, trying to warm, muscles tensing off and on in an attempt to catch and cut off any other motion to show he was hating the winter to come already with a deep passion. He didn't even question the motion for the time when Heero's other arm moved in a faint embrace across his upper torso and arms. He took whatever body heat was given off between the two, and relished to for as long as he could in that arctic night chill.

The windbreak was welcome and Duo closed his eyes, concentrating instead on the moment, on his thoughts, knowing his composure would be one part to their survival of this night. C'mon buddy, you almost got it, keep it quiet, keep it low, you're almost done. You're almost in a warm hotel with aspirin and television. That hot shower's comin' buddy, keep it together.' The soft coaching repeated itself over again and again in his mind, stilling his body after a few minutes. Still, he accepted the slow warming sensation from the "once in a lifetime" embrace, certain Heero only did so to shut him up. Well, if that's what it took to warm up a bit, he wasn't gonna complain. That was, until his thoughts circled back to the happenings of that night so far. Trowa had stayed behind... Well if that wasn't the stupidest thing that guy's ever done. He's gonna get himself killed for sure, the bastard. Why does he get to play the hero and make the rest of us feel bad for it?!'

Heero paid no attention to the changing features playing over the American teen's face, his eyes kept up and on the pursuers overhead. The gunfire had stopped. They'd probably taken Trowa captive already. That just meant another rescue mission before the team returned to space, if the situation was opportune in its arrangement.

The footsteps came, shuffled above and growled out cruel cusses back and forth as the now simmering rain let up a little more, before the footsteps drew away and further northward. They were headed back up the river--away from the town.

Good, go hunt phantoms,' were Heero's thoughts as he slowly began to relax the tension in his own painfully cold body, joints stiff and uncooperative. He paid them no mind and prepared to set off again, once sure that their hunters were gone. At least, until a lone shot too far out of place stopped him and turned his head back the direction they'd come from.

For even the smallest instant, his heart jumped high into his throat and sat there, seeming to choke the first few breaths that followed. With a small turn of his stomach, he helped pull Duo onto the bank once they'd come back to a section further southward that was near level with the water again. They'd keep to it incase their followers came back again.

Still, a thought nagged in Heero's mind in a solemn regret. Instinct was trying to tell him only four would be returning to space, and they'd have no need to stay once they had their perfect chance to escape. There wouldn't be anyone to stay for.

.-::Okay, Scarlet here. I know, I used to be a goofy "Lady Stardancer" but I've grown, and with much coaching, I am prepared to take up the quill once again. A "nagging" friend, you know you are, Lynne has inspired me to not only finish this work, but upon my own reading, I've realized it could use a "most serious" overhaul. Excuse my impropperly grammatical phrase. I hope to try and get a new chapter every week, but it's still in a "trail and error" stage, so do forgive me. So, if you've read this one before, do start again, because many changes are being made, hopefully for the better for all my audience, and we'll all get to see the lovely ending. Do keep in mind now, I'm a server on an odd schedule (GO RED LOBSTER!!! WE'RE BETTER THAN OLIVE GARDEN!!!) and will be working on these and my other works between college. And do remember to tip your servers well, that's their only income, and most of us make less than half of minimum wage( I only make $2.13/hr not counting tips). And for any who wish to say a personal "hi", especially some of my older audience, I really miss you guys!, my Yahoo SN is everancedreams, but be warned, misuse of it, and I will block you at the least. Gotta fade out, see ya round the next blaze.

.-:::Like legend, the eternal, feathered, fire "fox" will preen the old ashes from its immortal rejuvenation, standing tall and proud among the glowing embers of before; in the face of winds to come--so the scarlet phoenix shall rise. Again and again, renewed, remade, and renowned; as will the eternal flame of life deep in every heart of every soul that beats, breathes, or is, so lives the heart of an imagination, an unwritten story, like the anxiousness of innocent children, longing for its told space in time. Scarlet Faux :::-.


	2. Warm welcoming

(Disclaimer: All gundam characters are property of their creator, any interwoven plotline and unknown characters are similar based on my own muse and creation.)

\2/

Chilly winds swept to and fro across the barren fields, long since harvested. Nested between the reborn and sleeping lands of earth, long before spawned a fair sized town, enough to bustle and skitter about its own interwoven existence. Even so, the houses and street business didn't stray too far from its heart, like a little colony in its own essence, wary of what lay outside the outskirts.

A winter snow crept like a silent shroud over the uneven rooftops and shuffling cars, buried deep in the clouds that carried the white thief. And like the enchanting pull of a deep, un-awakening sleep, the lace crystals fell lazily at first– dreamily, and scattering themselves to fade away on warm landings.

Quiet, life's exhale after the sudden filling of disobedient lungs. Still, instinct ruffled the feathers of the soul, stirring the city with a shiver of unexpected events. New Angeline was not the untouched or untainted.

As war touches all, both directly and by a passing memory, each resident in the unlikely haven gathering had their story with its own eternal scars. Scars of the body, of the mind, of the soul, and of time. Whether they lost the loved ones they held dear, or lost their innocence in its witnessing, each breath of every body held a story; passed on from old to new, no generation outliving such horrors. And like a scuffle on the battlefield, New Angeline was finding itself far too prosperous, too untouched, like the forbidden at a distance. And as proven in history's never-ending cycle of similar change, the peace that came and stayed was soon to depart them again. The better question to its people was: when would it leave them for future chaos?

Fragile, dried threads long browned by age clung to the bark of twigs, flailing their cracked bodies in agonizing bends, the silver blades of ice on the wind unseen but not unfelt. And like the fallen in an eternal battlefield, the shattered bodies fell from their fronts, falling back onto the earth without a mourner's second glance.

Heero's eyes tiredly watched those falling leaves, as if in weeping for themselves and the summer long since passed that left them in their broken state. Like the summer that left them all, the life that was once theirs, even if for a brief moment, and then dropped them like a betraying heart into the ever-winter snows. Blank eyes followed one in particular, left with little to nothing but a frame, still clinging to ride the winds for as long as it could before it fell still along the ground.

It reminded him of many a things, even himself. No center to keep him... just a framed shell, empty, and still somehow managing to cling to an instinct to fight– to live. Why? It was worthless, and useless, after all. After this mission, finally ending the quarreling factions for another span of time, he would follow the other missionaries and crazed soldiers to hide away from a world that hated them for who they were; protecting them or not. That was the soldier's duty, to fight for even the hopeless, to report to duty for one who'd rather not take the risk themselves, and to be banished again in shame whether with victory or defeat. It was the way of life. Reminders were undesirable, and quickly hidden away at all costs.

Stiff shoulders shifted from their fallen rest, arms re-crossing themselves over a sore and heavy chest only just different from seconds before, as if for some purpose other than to disturb the nagging silence. 'That's not entirely true,' came the insistent critiquing of logic. And Heero's mind answered back to the thought, if only to keep him preoccupied. 'Duo's sharing the same room anyway, and he mumbles enough in his sleep to speak for everyone. Then there's everything outside the window, outside these walls, even those crossing back and forth in the hallway. Back and forth, almost too often...,' dwindled the suspicions.

"Goddamnit, this is going to drive me insane. They're just stupid civilians going about their normal routines, the same they do every day. The same they've done the past four days," came the settling remark, curt and annoyed.

"What's wrong with me?" Still, wracking coughs broke the question short and let itself die in the strong, paining bursts of air. A few short and determined breaths steadied the body and its routine again as the youth once again took his stance of before as if nothing more had happened. He felt he had to be more alert than before, at least until one of the others came. His body was already drained and sore from sickness himself, but in the balance of sickness or life, he had no other choice.

Heero's eyes lingered only a moment longer on the window, watching the innocently falling flakes that would soon chill the unpredictable earth and cover it in blankets of white and gray hues. Still, on instinct, the steely blues drug their hazy gaze back across the room, overlooking the second bed. The first was clean, well made, and undisturbed. The second was a tumbling mess all jumbled about a still feverish form that often tossed and turned in undefinable dreams. For now, his features held a calmed pain, resting in unease but submissive in the hands of exhaustion. "For four days you've done nothing but sleep, and you still manage to need more of it than I can get."

The softly hoarse scoffing went unheard by the American comrade, leaving him untouched in another empty span of unconsciousness. He'd far improved since their coming, but he clung to the pacifism of recovery as long as he could. Duo, like the others, had no conscious intention of ever wanting to return to the battlefield, and even unconsciously, kept his hold on his R&R ticket for as long as he would be allowed.

Heero's only answer to his gaze was a soft mumble and whine as the still chilled boy shifted beneath the thick blankets.

"You're hopeless, as always. Useless, and I still can't understand why I bother with it..."

And as if in answer to the rhetorical question, a knock wrapped four curt times on the older wooden door of their guest room.

Heero's eyes shot in a silent motion to the entrance. That wasn't the same, lazy knock of their keeper. She was an older woman, sponsored by Sally and a friend of their cause. He was reluctant to shift, the room seeming unbearably loud for being so quiet. The once mundane, tick of the soft bedside clock was now even annoyingly loud.

"Heero? Duo? Trowa? Are you guys in there?" Came the soft call of a familiar voice.

The small, dull ring of the metal knob twisting in its mounting gave away with the door, platinum blonde hair peeking just inside and followed by almost shy cerulean eyes. Quatre kept his voice soft, not quite sure if he'd had the right room at first, the musty old boarding house warm and sleepy in the coming winter days.

Creaking eased and stilled as the oak door quelled and stopped its movements, letting the curious eyes linger in its open space.

Quatre's fluttering heart stilled when his eyes came along the silhouette at the window, slipping a kind smile to his thin lips, Arabian features settling to an ease. The room was kind and humble about them as he slipped inside, hearing the door catch softly with a click as it closed again into its resting state. There was a large, weathered dresser, its bold, velvet black dried and faded by the sunlight, a stand alone, full length mirror keeping to itself in the corner, thick drapes moved aside nearer to the beige walls and two single beds dressed in homemade comforters and quilts, well broken in by previous visitors. Duo's ill form occupied one, and the kind aristocrat went instantly to it.

Light hands graced over the features of the sleeping teenager, checking the temperature and reactions of his good friend with a sibling's worry. A weary groan was his answer.

"Has anyone been in to have a look at him? His fever's still pretty high, Heero."

A cool reply slipped itself from near indifferent lips, the youth dressed in borrowed clothes from one of the older soldiers of Sally's militia. They were hiding everywhere. For now, these were the only safe grounds for them.

"We've done what we would with that side-wound. He still needs medication and a proper stitching, especially if he keeps ripping it out. The fever broke once, but it's stubborn with that extra wound." He dropped his arms and turned his gaze to Quatre, turning on a lamp as he shut the curtains tightly, before readjusting the loose, oversized sweater on his shoulders. The belt held the pants well and fine, he'd only had to roll them up at the bottom a time or two. It was all they could manage to scrounge up. "Probably slight infection. The doctor will be by in an hour or so, they said," he continued, his stiff steps crossing over towards his own bed, finally taking a seat and quickly covering his mouth with a cupped hand, wracking coughs startling his body yet again.

A disapproving look was sent Heero's way, but Quatre knew it was inevitable and the boy always did what he felt he needed to do as it was needed. Still, reason caught him as he stood and without a second thought, took a folded blanket at the foot of the American's bed and unfurled it, draping it over a his companion's shoulders and ignoring the blankly confused look. "How badly off is Trowa? I understand this room is a little cramped... is he down the hall? Or did he go out? Wufei'll be here shortly when he's done with the preparations."

For a good moment of silence, Heero actually bit his tongue, not wanting to answer Quatre's questions so quickly. When the silence seemed unbearable, stabbing like a white hot iron into your gut with a good twist of sickness, he decided that all things in this situation were best kept blunt, logical, and realistic.

"Dead or dying."

Those three little words took a split second to soak into the blonde's mind, as if waiting for the snicker to the end of a sick joke. His voice rose beyond his control, and his eyes snapped up as if to demand that it was a joke, but asked as if in a quiet, squeak that was ready to break. "That's not true, is it?"

"We had no other choice, we were ambushed. On all good account, Quatre," came the stronger, cool reply, "they've all the data and things they need from him. He gave us cover as I got away with Duo, and he's not only a spy, but a traitor and a threat to them. There was a single shot in the end... it's near impossible otherwise."

Passion igniting, an unnatural tone spat itself from usually peaceful lips, growling low in a bitterness. "Near but NOT impossible! How could you give up so easily and just give him up for dead!? That's ridiculous and you know it!" His sitting position was impossible and soon he was on his feet in a simmering, quiet rage.

Duo shifted with a long groan, giving a broken whine at a pressure along his side and a few coughs to echo it, before he unconsciously tossed again as if hoping to find a comfortable resting state.

Still, Heero was the one to remain motionless, at first, before deep velvet blues turned cold as stone and cutting as knives. "I took the liberty of checking myself, Quatre. I'm no idiot, regardless of our up-bringing and your quick jump to fight it seems today. I checked through Oz, through all their files and surveillance and for every unit in the area, and **nothing** came up other than the report on the little scuffle and that three were thought to be there but only one was ever found. They didn't go any further. Thereisnosignofhim, Quatre. Being adamant about it won't bring life back to the dead."

The pacing steps faltered and froze in mid-stride before falling to a resting position at the sharp words of the Japanese youth. For as much as he hated to admit to any of it, he knew questioning Heero's final statements was usually a bad idea, because they were not made without much intent research and thought. 'Damn it, not now, not again.'

"H..He might.. Like last time...", the thought was all but lost just trying to escape the mouth of the shaken aristocrat. Such an idea seemed to break him already.

"It's as rare of a possibility as it was then, I will give you that. The odds are stronger against it this time, Quatre. Believe what you want, but don't live it in a fantasy. We're still fighting a war." This time, his words eased back and kept cool, but not nearly as heartless. It was just illogical to try and believe something so far out of reach.

Quatre's mind and heart took in the idea of it all, and finally his hands stretched, shaking, to grasp onto the nearest support it could find. He fell, more rather than leaned, back into the dresser, closing his eyes tightly for a moment that lasted a lifetime. He didn't even bother to answer the question or acknowledge the second creaking of the old oak door, hearing it click shut in the back of his mind and knowing Wufei was there, but not seeming to care. It just seemed too hard to care right now.

A cuss bit itself with a sharp snarl from usually indifferent features, the poker face of the sad clown broken by a deep grimace from time to time. Still, as calming breaths were taken and a few more curses found their way from unlikely lips, Trowa repositioned the torn cloth back over the homemade patch. One end of the sleeve wrapped tightly around bloody fingers, the second end held between gritted teeth to steady it, a sharp pull snapped it tight without hesitation or thought of the pain to come.

Still, the brash movements didn't quite stop the pain, just the blood flow for a moment or two as it dampened the cloth pressed relentlessly to it now. The throngs of white fire running up and down from the wound along his shoulder teased without subsiding, stretching down his back, into his tired mind, though his arm, and into his chest, leaving his lungs to feel heavy and frantic for air with more of a struggle than anything.

Panting breaths soon found their way through parted lips, making quick gasps as the world spun for a moment or two before settling and the breaths calmed themselves. Trowa's eyes closed wearily, not daring to move any weight onto his twisted left ankle. It still burned and stung, giving bold throbs to any shift made around it. Like an old bounty hunter with his new catch for reward, Trowa had been handcuffed and made to follow behind the jeep of the higher ranking officers, his escorts kept at their own pace behind him, guns trained and trigger fingers itching. The trek back through the icy conditions and muddy terrain had been torture he tried to hide. Still, even such bravado was hard to keep up in a bitter darkness, hiding all the uneven steps and upraised roots.

Hell was just starting, he was sure of it. And that was his grand entrance into the front gates of this lovely resort.

"By now, they should be off of this winter fortress and back to making these guys miserable," came the hopeful remark, knowing that when given an offered operation of strategic means, that at least Heero wouldn't stop come hell or high water until it was completed. That was perhaps his biggest downfall if it could be manipulated right.

Either way, if their plans to get to outer space were a success or a failure, it made no difference to him now. He was still stuck in the same dark, small, square cell with no furnishings and the only light coming from a peeping window at the top of the door too small to even fit a full hand through.

His breaths echoed about him, every once in a while a stray thought making its way across his tired mind.

'Well, no name, you picked a hell of a time to go without a meal. No doubt if I see food or water here, it'll be in taunting anyway.'

Even the casual observation seemed a little awkward in his mind. What was the use? He was surprised he wasn't dead. 'Not yet at least, give them time to get a bit more frustrated with me.'

A smirk actually tugged this time at his lips in the dark, masked away to only his own knowledge. Not dead yet? It was only ever a matter of time, the occasion spoken of more frequently with soldiers and those of a more dangerous taste. Normally, it didn't matter. What did it matter now? Why did it matter now?

"I told Cathy I'd be coming back," was the weary response to no one at all. "I guess it'll be a bit longer than she wants. She'll be upset with me again," trailed his own thoughts, shifting as emeralds fluttered closed in his confines. He may as well rest while he could.

Still, the thud of boots on a tile floor along with the faint squeak of the rubber against the tile when one was of a quick, determined stride, floated at first like dull beats that rumbled in and out of time. And much like a distant storm sounds before it cracks and shatters itself over the waiting in its path, the boots drew closer in sound, halting just outside his door.

"Come in," spilled a soft sarcasm, keeping his eyes closed even against the blinding light of the hallway, paying no heed to the silhouette in its frames.

Esperanzo shifted beneath the blankets, tugging them with a drowsy hand up and over her copper tanned features. The nasty little sunlight was blocked again by the warmth of darkness, and she curled deeper into her flannel sheets.

"Mnph, sleepy time.." broke the muffled words.

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep... called back to the young woman as if in mock laughter at her.

A frustrated scream found itself from angry lips, chased out quickly by, "Oh good gods, you stupid, sorry, ungrateful little mothers...!" The words trailed off themselves in a long, lazy yawn as a slam of the determined palm fell hard on the snooze button. "Next time, she's taking those damn birds with her."

Zoe, as she was often called by her peers, pushed herself up with reluctance and glared at the doorway with dark hazels, upset that her morning wake up call only hours before her alarm had its chance. Instead of the natural, signature beeping, her dreams were interrupted by two squalling banshees who's songs were more like nails on a chalkboard. "One of these days, I'm going to have a barbeque and you'll both be main course!"

Again, her response was a chirp or two innocently from the other room.

Still, a tired hand brushed back the long bundles of braids, letting them fall back into place, hanging heavily in ebony strands just above the knees. A stretch or two was made as Zoe pushed herself from the queen sized mattress on box springs. Renting an apartment was hard enough, renting a house so she'd have the room for herself and Andi's things, was a bit tougher. It's not like she needed the bedframe. It's wasn't like they needed a lot of other things either, but that's the problem living with two opposites.

Zoe made due with what they had, or did without. Not only was she prone to accepting it, but to being lazy on top of it. Besides, cleaning was ridiculous. Neither girl could ever find anything when it was cleaned, but when the house was a mess, they found everything with the simplest of ease, as well as the lost city of Atlantis, only every other scavenger hunt.

That's where an easy life would be too except that Andrea always had her good say. Keep it neat and organized, cozy and clean and she was happy. She already had her troubles finding her memory, much as she would her head except that it was the only thing attached.

Still, Zoe had to admit, she wasn't far behind Andi in her own misadventures with memory, but unlike her good friend who often became a little too flustered with it, she preferred to lay back, nap, and let life take its course.

"Ugh, it's the weekend and I'm still working. This isn't even fair," she called, if not to the birds, then to the possible higher powers that might take pity on her and randomly give her a million dollars. Well, it was a hope.

As routine as the sun rises and sets, reluctant fingers brushed their way through a pile of clothes, the only difference between the wrinkled bundles of clean and dirty were the food stains or the smell. Snatching out a white dress shirt and black dress slacks, she tossed them into the dryer, the only other sound in the house as glistening silver flakes drifted and danced outside the windows.

"A quick shower, throw on the uniform, and it's off to another wonderful day at work! Woohoo!"

Somehow, the lingering sarcasm wasn't nearly as convincing to the youth as she turned on the faucet, realizing and not seeming too concerned she was already running behind. She'd just have to sprint to work instead of walking...

A perky smile lit the young Latina's lips as she took a second or two more to scratch out a few key words on her misshapen and overused notepad, before dropping both the pen and booklet back into her apron pocket as natural as a breath would be before continuing.

"All right, I'll head on back and get breakfast started for everyone since you all look so hungry," eased itself in a kindness that was only half fake for as early as it was, "and be right back with those biscuits so the kids can get started."

An appreciative thank you and smiles from both parents of their three unruly children was kept in Zoe's mind as she made her way back to the kitchen. Ducking behind a dividing wall and dropping the smile she didn't feel, a large yawn took its place and she stretched with much less haste than she'd projected only moments before. "'Morning, Rick."

The unnaturally chipper manager smiled his wide smile, giving a courteous nod as his full cheeks lifted with the smile that was yet to drop. "Well God be praised, she is alive!" Hearty, warm laughter rumbled softly as the kind-hearted, middle aged man stepped out of range of the service computer and let the drowsy server go about her work.

Zoe couldn't help but laugh at how odd it seemed to hear him every morning, just as the sun was gleaming over the wall of picture windows, and every morning the rest of the staff couldn't pull their minds out of sleep enough to join in. "Exactly. So we give it an hour, close the dining room, pull the buffet, have breakfast, and then go to bed."

"Sounds good," echoed from the older staff, along with "just give us the day off."

Rick simply shook his head and straightened his blazer, his unique ties always a subject of the day. "Oh, it's not that bad. If our guests are awake, then you'll all be fine. Besides, you all look so thrilled to be here!"

Zoe simply rolled her eyes and keyed in the order, leaning back against the counter as Rick's hand smoothed down the animated tie, depicting eight tiny reindeer trying to pull a large slay far too overfilled and not simply with toys. "Hey, don't make us suffer because you're getting older and get to take five naps a day."

Another chuckle followed her as the youth passed back behind the doors to the kitchen and she went about setting up breakfast for her table. "Well, that's half of the privilege of being manager and being old. You can't stay out for very long when you're a vampire, sunlight isn't all that great for the skin."

A series of grumbles followed again as the young woman deliberated with the idea of a "quality check" of the bacon on one of the plates being set up before her. "Fine, buy me breakfast and I'll be nice today." And reason held her against the act, though not without regret.

Manager and staff alike let the conversation dwindle and die behind the scenes of the restaurant doors, like an overused joke that still roused a chuckle or two on the odd chance of the right timing.

The once quiet room of empty tables soon began to rouse itself, in both the grumpier and cheerier aspects of life. Faces came with stories and emotions of every style and size, for better or worse, and always turned with a smug fulfillment as time drew on with the waking hours of lunch. And as always, those clad of the apron and pen bustled to and fro between the maze of chairs and aromas, the "Perma-grin" stuck in place without falter.

Zoe slipped back from her last table, sneaking away to drop the rag and spray bottle off in their designated holders, the dishes clattering on a cocktail tray before being left on the slop covered dish window. A welcome chair, long since worn and all but crumbling sat empty in a corner, hidden from the eyes of the many, and with a coaxing thought or two, welcomed the sore youth. Change jangled as she sat and removed her cash and paperwork from its pockets in Zoe's apron. Tips were skimpy today.

"Great, I'm really gonna pay all my bills AND eat on this. Thanks, everyone," fell the grumble from her lips. People seemed more demanding on the weekends, as if they were the only ones that ever faced a bad day and needed their own slaves for an hour or so with nothing more than a buck and the knowledge that most wouldn't remember your name. "Hmph, not even minimum wage, between paycheck and tips. Son of a..."

"Hey, hey... we shouldn't talk like that about the guests," came the deep voice, a soft but kind reprimand from the dining room manager.

"Maybe we should be paying them to come in and eat then," was the sigh of defeat, Zoe's sarcastic smile falling and reminding her that yet again, she'd have to wait another week to get new shoes. All that walking, day in and day out wore out the soles faster than anyone else, and still, there wasn't enough extra in her hold for the time to dwell in such luxuries. "Winter's not making it easy to get by, is all, Rick. My car's acting up, Andi's got her own dilemmas to deal with, and we're skating by on minimum payments right now as it is. I'll just have to get another job until business picks up if life goes on like this. But for all the time that doesn't add up in tips that I spend here, it's nearly impossible to go and find time for another job."

Not to be one to give up so easily, the older man sighed and nodded. "Busy season's coming again. Just a little longer and everyone will be back here. Besides, people are already sick of winter. They'll be out soon. We go through this every year."

"Yeah," scoffed the young woman as she stood, swooping back her long pony-tail pulled taut atop her head. The hair rippled and fell down her back, natural curls keeping their smooth waves over the distinctly white shirt. "And each year, we get behind, and just as we're almost ahead of everything, dead season comes back and pushes us further back each time. This just waiting tables isn't working as well as it used to. Look, I just wanna cash out so I can go home."

"Sound's like a plan," was the defeated reply.

Quickly sorting out the tips from cash that had to be paid back to the restaurant, Zoe snatched for her hoodie in the guest coat room and slipped her wallet from her apron into her front pouch. All she wanted to do was go home and soak in a hot tub. Lunch and dinner would have to be a quick, cheap burger from down the street and hope it lasted.

Pushing past the front doors of the dining lodge, a blast of arctic air took the place of the heat from the vents and left a strong chill racing up and down Zoe's body. Stuffing her gloved hands into the front of the pouch, her trek started with a few unsteady steps over the icy cement before they steadied.

"Where's the sun when you want it?"

"The tropics, where else!?" Followed behind the girl, her ducked head turning to catch an older woman bundling herself up to brace the winds as she walked to her car.

"Think it'd come back," was the chattering retort, a smile in place, " if we renamed the place?"

Laughter at the random thought echoed from the older woman. Many of the day serving staff were older men and women, those with children either getting ready to leave the house, or already left and starting families of their own. It was random and rare for "youngen's" as they called Zoe and her peers, to be in the same working group. True, most younger adults were either in class for college, worked other, more "acceptable" jobs for their stations that often didn't require nearly as much work, or worked the night shifts. Zoe took whatever came her way and was available. Just like her hard-working mother.

"Only you."

Zoe smirked. "If I'm such a rarity, why aren't I making a few hundred dollars an hour for the talent? I bet there ain't another one like me anywhere else, so why am I still making $3.00/hr plus tip?"

Again, another small spout of laughter came. "It'll look up, so quit bragging. You aren't walking home again, are you Zoe?"

"Yep."

"In this weather? You'll freeze or get sick."

"Or both, but I don't have much choice," followed by a coy smile was the stubborn response.

A look of disapproval caught the older woman's face and held its place there. "C'mon then. I'll drive you home, it's not that far out of the way."

"Toni," a sigh bit itself off. She hated to ask for help, especially if it was a bit more of an inconvenience.

Stubbornly, Toni gave a sharp look Zoe's way. "If you don't, I'll just run you over and drag you behind my car."

A hesitant laugh came to Zoe's lips, eyebrow raised in skepticism, but didn't doubt the older woman's intentions. "Fine. But as long as you don't throw me in the trunk and drive to the border, I'll agree, just this once..."

Steps turning, Zoe changed her direction, a small flinch all that came from the older woman's chuckle of triumph. If she was sealing her death wish, then there really was no other way the day could get any worse. Right?

The metal frame of the strict chair refused to warm itself, even against the continual touch of the young man's flesh, though it was not at his wish that he was there. The cold cutting discomfort of the handcuffs along his tender wrists were already enough of an agitation, holding their prisoner trapped against the metal chair. Trowa kept his eyes down, not very intent on any of the words exchanged between his two interrogators or their flustered actions.

Weariness pulled at him, but the once dulled throb of his arm now gave a jolting stream of seizing agony as the muscles stressed and strained, intensifying with every movement asked of them.

At least he didn't have to walk or stand for the time. With the continual pressure, the twisted ankle shrieked with a blinding pain with each use; horribly tender even at rest. Often times, it even collapsed him, not responding to his mind's needs and demands.

"You know, for as much trouble as you keep giving us, it had to be just dumb luck that you managed all that yourself for as long as you have. Because if you had any smarts, you'd give in right now and save more than just us, but yourself a hell of a lot of trouble." The younger of the group, a man probably in his twenties, private by his rank markings, loomed closely in front of him. His every breath and word were hot and felt against the younger's turned cheek, having no intention to join in their lovely chat. "You wanna help us out a bit and tell us what those other two were up to, even where they're going, and a lot of people won't have to get hurt or uprooted for us to smoke out the other four."

Again, silence danced between captive and captor. It should have been routine and expected. Still, Trowa's mind drifted elsewhere to find a content thought or two. What else was there to do? 'There would be no room and much practice ahead of me, but I could always start a new routine. Well, for when I do get back to the circus.'

"I think," came the lieutenant colonel's tired words, the man quite a bit older than his counterpart, "that he's just being shy. Maybe he needs a bit of help refreshing his mind. After all, he mustn't be too comfortable there and those injuries are probably interfering with his memories."

A small snickering laughter came from the latter man, listening with pure amusement as devious thoughts spawned. "I think you're right, Sir. I never realized," trailed the remark as he reached out.

Trowa gave a small flinch in anticipation as emerald eyes caught sight of where the larger hand was readying to place itself. When it clamped down hard over his wounded arm, his teeth grit together hard, still unsuccessful in drowning the low growl that came at the suddenness. His eyes closed tight in concentration, he could feel the slow curl of fingers, prodding against the bullet wound in his flesh, digging into the slow healing area and bruising the tender muscle.

It was is if fiery acid were poured into the already opened flesh, dispersing quickly and leaving stabbing, burning stretches over his entire arm, crossing his shoulders and ripping down his back. His chest seemed to tighten as his stomach twisted on itself, his lungs feeling half crushed in the sudden attempt for quiet, unspoken, begging release in each trial for a fleeting breath. It felt as if the onslaught would last for hours, the grip tightened and released, retightening harder each time. Then, it ebbed away, leaving the wrenching aches behind as a reminder.

The laughter and taunting weren't heard right away, the youth's vision rolling as burning eyes forced themselves to keep from flowing, a thunderous roaring of his pulse pounding in his ears, leaving his body rigid and suddenly overheated for a few minutes more. The instant shock overwhelmed him, but not quite strongly enough before it began to fade away. His hearing slowly returned, like tuning into a radio to find the music between the static, his tossing vision steadying itself, and his breath opening and easing. He didn't even place or feel the sudden slap against his right cheek, tossing his sketchy balance for another dizzy spell before the dull ache forced its way into his cloudy mind. At least he resisted the want to black out, for the time.

"Shit, the things I do trying to be nice. Now I've gotta clean that crap up."

"Yeah, because you were the one to do it. It's not my fault he's bleeding all over. Look, Private, just go take him to the infirmary, dump him off in his cell when you're done, get this cleaned up, and we'll go tell the general about this. He's uncooperative, but I'm not sure the general's gonna want anything else to do with him. We've already got all his statistics and data and if he isn't gonna talk, he'll be useless."

"Yeah," was the bitter grumble, "I guess." He quickly undid the handcuffs from their mount on the back of the chair and hefted the half conscious teen up from his place, catching him with a cuss when the young pilot collapsed almost the same instant.

Trowa felt that familiar sear of pain race through his leg again and wasn't quite as ready as he'd hoped to stand. The hard jerk of his own falling weight on his uninjured arm gave a painful pull but he again bit off anything but a soft burst of a growl.

It took a few minutes to get back to his feet, the private determined not to do any more work than he had to and refused to help or drag the boy to their destination. Trowa detested the man as he was sure was a mutual outlook from the elder. Making it with minimal aid and support, he took on the heavy limp once again, following after his captor. Pride was not much of a thought left here to have, but any extra pain he could spare himself would be well and welcome.


	3. Gotta move, gotta go

(Disclaimer: All gundam characters are property of their creator, any interwoven plotline and unknown characters are similar based on my own muse and creation.)

\3/

Night came sooner and cut the days in half, even the silent stars blocked on the darker side of town, blotted out by thick storm clouds heavy with snow and ice like a bad prank just waiting for you to turn your back on. Still, the night was far from quiet, in all its mischief.

"..._Can't you see that I'm the one! It took six long hours and five long days.."_

It was probably for the best that the girls had a large yard, keeping their neighbors at a distance from the smaller apartment. For Zoe's better luck, anyway.

Music was what life was, heart and soul, running the blood through their veins, their own outlet of emotions, their understood world. And as often times it was good music, not only was it heard, but it was all too well felt. The windows shook with each rumbling break of the bass line, hiding any sound of the girl's duet with the CD if she were off by just a bit or quite a lot more. The cheap surround sound speakers shook in their faithful mounts on the walls or in the room corner, but never fell to everyone's amazement, from an earlier time when both girls had the money to spend with excitement and laughter and without the weighing thoughts of bills. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could ALL find those days back?

For now, the driving punk rock moved the tired muscles of the young woman, making the normal household chores seem a little more exciting and not nearly as redundant. A swing broke into Zoe's step, the uncaring groove making each mopping stroke a bit reckless, an absent hand reaching out to dust the top of a picture or to straighten the shifted books on their huge, homemade shelving. "You birds are more trouble than you're worth," she finally called as she scrubbed the wooden floors of her best friend's room, waiting for the next song as the last one faded and left an odd silence in the halls. "Andi better be enjoying the hell out of herself for this," slipped out to no one but herself and the two parakeets, "especially if the landlord lets her keep you freaks and won't let me have a dog."

Again, a small chirp or two came to her as if in response, but filled into a series of chirps as if to mock her. 'Great, birds are out to get me too,' was all she could think of for the moment, shifting the birds and cage back to their tall stand before moving on. One more day of this, and Andi would be back to keep her company, and hopefully, with a little extra cash to help or they'd never have groceries.

Meanwhile, the small mountain of china and tupper ware sat content in a hot, soapy water filled sink, calling out that they couldn't be forgotten, or else!

"..._It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right. I hope you had the time of your life."_

Trowa focused again, concentrating hard enough to give himself a headache but it couldn't be helped. On an odd twist, the infirmary doctors did as they were ordered and treated him at bare minimum, stitching up the bullet wound and wrapping it tight, before giving him a one over to make sure he wouldn't take up room there again before trying to send him off. However, before they did, a smirking female doctor had one final gift for him. He knew he'd remember her coy face, her Chesire cat grin before giving him a good dose of morphine.

And now, between his hazy and drifting thoughts, he could understand why. They didn't care to use painkillers on an enemy who was better off dead to them anyway. It was the side effects, leaving him on an odd high as he struggled pathetically to center and focus himself, but his thoughts were like clouds that slipped through his fingers, his vision unstable and flighty, toppling and twisting with any moderate movement of his gaze.

'Damn it, I've gotta think! If they come again,' but again, the train of thought disappeared into a tunnel with no path, no end, and now way back it appeared.

The shadows, were actually quite interesting. If he turned just right or quickly enough, they bounced round in their shades with the small slits of light from the door, tripping over themselves like a kaleidoscope. Sometimes they even reminded him of animals wrestling in play...

'They'll kill me,' he attempted again, ' they want me dead and I don't want to die yet...'

Yet. Why hadn't he slept yet? So tired, sleeping would be wonderful, there was a spacious corner just off to his right, below a vent that blew in a little warm air, so he could stretch out and dream about that warmth.

Like the summer, like last summer, but it was so hot and the animals were bad tempered for it and Cathy was upset the air condition had broken. He teased her about it in private as he fixed the wiring for her.

'Nosleep! No...I have to get out. Outside, it was cold out, the snow... I have to get out now and live!'

Even more than struggling with his thoughts was struggling to keep his eyes open. The darkness called to him and it was hard to tell the difference as to whether his eyes were even open or not. And unknowingly, he'd let them slip shut, telling himself unconsciously that it was the same and he'd manage to stay awake just the same. It made things so much harder though, coaxing him to rest, to give into his content feeling and take that nap in the heated corner, stretch out and laze around for once. Relax.

A stubborn will pushed back into his mind and deciding on it quickly, he shifted and pulled his knee up, moving the stiff, sprained ankle. 'That's it,' he coached himself on, wincing and locking his jaw tight at the pain that ran through his leg. 'It'll clear my head up, focus on the pain, No name, just focus.'

As the pain began to ebb away, a good kick with the same leg at the wall off to his near side shook everything from the wounded ankle clear up his spine, running a gruff howl of partial surprise and hateful torment past his vocal chords and from his thin lips. A new presence overtook him, but it wasn't the easy high he'd been given. This one was heavy and crushing, making it hard to breath again for a few moments as heat overtook him, too much heat, and his eyes stung from the strain of his body's attempt to express itself.

Instead, clenched fists shook at his sides, not being able to grab onto anything on the concrete flooring. 'I have to, now,' broke to the front of his mind, leaving all doubts aside. He could already hear the lazy footsteps of soldiers passing by, slowing as he they neared and the ring of keys jangled in a half hearted search for one out of the many.

Trowa could remember vaguely where the infirmary was, and further down the corridor he'd caught sight of an emergency exit sign. "I've got no choice," was his whisper, shaking arms lifting him up on his good leg, the running pangs from his arm keeping the drowsy morphine high away, favoring his bad leg. If he could just take out the soldier or soldiers, confiscate a firearm or two, he could make a half blind dash to where the supposed exit door was in his mind. There was no time to plan, no other opportunity to, and this time it would rest on him, and luck. Hopefully, if he was wrong, he'd have the spare seconds to make up for it and/or "wing it" as Duo often suggested in his lazy teases.

'Oh hell,' was soon all that he could think, propping himself up against the wall as tightly as he could, a small distance from the side of the door but within reach of his enemy he mainly hoped he could overpower. The turn and ring of the keys sliding over metal in the door's lock sounded without much care or urgency, the door slid open from a small distance. This was as opportune as things were gonna get, and Trowa's hand of cards wasn't looking as promising as it could.

It was late into the night before he young woman finally pulled herself onto the worn out mattress, giving a quick half hearted tug at her blankets. It never really mattered to her when she had her "projects" finished or if she just lazed around the house all day like she often did. For Zoe, sleep was always there, pestering her, just within her sights but never in reach. Her insomnia started as a child with an overactive imagination and bad dreams too real seeming to convince herself otherwise. It just became an unconscious habit to sit awake during the night, staring at the ceiling with a reeling mind that couldn't seem to shut itself down.

"One of these days," came a breathless sigh as she put her arm over her eyes, blocking the soft glow of the streetlight shining through her blinds. "I'm gonna get more than four hours of sleep."

It was unlikely, since she'd already tried most everything aside from strong drugs to help her rest since she was little. Drugs were definitely not an option she wanted anything to do with, they were too expensive and too much of a pain already as it was. And any other activities that would normally drain one into exhaustion always pulled at her physical strength, but only ever made her mind run faster with questions or ideas or odd ball thoughts.

It didn't seem too bother either of the girls too much when living together, as they were both similar by very different means. By now, she'd have been helping Andi finish the last of her own homework anyway. Zoe's only problem was that now, she had nothing constructive to do, and the boring process of trying to shut down her active mind was underway.

"At least it's quieted down outside now..."

"Well then, it looks like we've got nothing to worry about!" Came the cheery remark, Duo's tired eyes sparking with mischief at finally being incorporated in the planning. Wufei seemed impassive over everything, Heero only seemed troubled by something more aside from their mess at hand and his confidence as a whole in the plan looked just a little shy of being sure. Quatre was the only one that managed to spare him a playful smile, however half hearted it was.

In all truth, he'd spent the day coming to terms and realization of everything that had happened since the botched escape when he was wounded. His memory had been hazy and hard to hold onto then.

His fever had passed him over after their fourth or fifth day there, letting him regain the strength he needed to be out and about. It's not like he went very far, lounging around the room or the main dining room where their cheery older hostess seemed relieved to be able to fuss over the young men. Heero had spent more time laying in the room than anything, but he didn't blame the guy. Right now, he was sure his comrade was doing all he could not to lose any lungs or any other vital organs with each heavy set of coughs. Compared to those, Duo didn't mind his tender gunshot wound at all, he'd rather keep that than be hacking away worse than any life long smoker ever sounded. Duo was quite surprised it hadn't progressed into pneumonia.

"Sally said," was the quiet response, finally breaking through as the group of four broke apart to their own wanted parts of the room, "that the uniforms should be done tonight. They're putting the last touches and alterations on them. I admit, it'll be easier to get there in disguise than to try and steal the uniforms from the mechanics. But we still don't know for sure if we can steal a transport that's both unguarded and doesn't need maintenance, after all, we are–," but the re-explanation was again cut short.

A weary arm cradled his sore chest lightly, a shaking hand going to cover his mouth as Heero's legs gave way and dropped him onto his own bed for now, heavy, croupy coughs rattled his chest, echoing in the small room. He hated it for what it was, the nasty business of having a cold, and knew it was only going to be more troublesome tomorrow during the mission operation. A flush flew to his face as he gasped for air, stifling off a few more of the hacking coughs that threatened to suffocate him, his sore torso pulsing with the labor of each breath.

It was expected, after all their trudging around only a few days before in the mess of snow and ice and rain. The thought didn't make it any easier.

On an unspoken, helpful cue, Wufei switched from his seat closer to the window and headed towards the small private bathroom, rummaging a moment until he found the medication Sally had left to help the Japanese youth. A careful pour and a quick eyeing of the thick, pastel liquid was all he gave, bringing it back to the main room as if it were his chore. It was almost time for the next dose anyway, within ten minutes or so anyway.

A wince was all the sick young man gave to his offering. It tasted like hell, it sat in the bottom of his stomach, and so far, it did absolutely nothing for his cold except added the nausea to it. "I don't want it."

"I have the authority to use force, and not just to my own wanting, Heero Yuy." The remark was calm from the young dragon, but just as threatening as the nasty glare he was being given. "It take a while to work and we don't need you dying on us of pneumonia or something more before we're even halfway to space."

"Then I'll wait until we're there before I drop dead, but I'm not taking that right now. I can take care of myself, Chang."

Duo's eyes lingered over the two for a minute with a small shake of the head. Man, those two could both be horribly stubborn. "You'd better go break it up before one of them uses more than words." The tease was meant to be light hearted, but Quatre's solemn nod to it reminded him of just how bad those two could be if they really wanted to.

With a calm hand, Quatre laid one to Wufei's, hesitantly waiting to take the medication and offering up a truce between the two in a cease fire.

"Heero, please...?"

"No," was the curt reply, the young man laying on his side and pulling the pillow up under his head, closing his eyes as if in a final decision. It went down like poison and made him feel like he was on his death bed. He'd rather do it of his own will first.

Taking his own liberty to sit on the bed, he held the small cup in his hands, eyeing the off colored, yellowish liquid himself. "I don't envy you, having to take this, but I don't envy your cough either. A little upset stomach would be better than the fever, delirium, and slowly drowning to death, Heero. Look, in a time like this with everything going on, this is the last thing I really wanna do, let alone ask someone else to do," trailed on softly, defeat evident in his voice, mind still a mess of stresses he just wanted to break under, but knew he didn't have time for that. "But we have to take care of each other, and look out for each other. Please take it?"

He wasn't sure whether it was an annoyance at them or an irritation with himself that finally broke his stubbornness, giving a heavy, struggling sigh that fell into a small fit of coughs, offering out his hand to take the disgusting stuff. Heero could still see the broken heart of the boy before him, fluttering to push on when it was already so worn out, etched in his dulled blue eyes. "This is the last time then, Quatre. The only time."

Quatre gave a small nod, of course he knew they would go through this again until the last of the ten days were over. Heero said it each time, during the morning and the night medication times. He just didn't feel like this anymore, his hand absently waiting on the worn cotton comforter to take back the empty cup. To his mind, most all things seemed out of focus right now. At least the snow had stopped, or did it even start? What did it really matter now? The falling snow calmed him, even if momentarily, the lazy drift of it, pure and simple, lovely, and deadly all at the same time.

"Quatre?" A distant look overtook the young aristocrat, taking him perhaps to another place and time, far from where they sat now. Heero hadn't seen it on his face that often, at least, in the time they knew each other and encountered each other.

With a small shake of his head, sandy blonde hair falling across his eyes before being pushed back into its normal, framing place, Quatre snapped himself back to reality. The calm that had come over him faded away and was replaced again with a tired feeling. "Hmph? Oh, sorry."

The cup was passed from one youth to the next, finally off to Wufei who'd stayed by incase Quatre's reasoning hadn't gotten through on its own, and again, Quatre pushed himself to his feet. "I think I'm just going to go to bed. Dinner doesn't sound appealing to me anymore, guys."

An unspoken concern passed between the three watchers, Wufei giving a soft nod to Duo and Heero as one went to sleep and the other pulled himself out of bed to head down for the prepared dinner. Wufei would keep an eye on Quatre's behavior, as they shared a room together just on the other side of Duo's and Heero's. They had to be their own, and each other's strength through this as times drew on and got harder. He'd see if he couldn't talk Quatre into eating a little if he brought the food up for him. His friend hadn't eaten all day, and the last thing they needed was someone else to be sick.

The continual screech of the alarm sirens rang in his ears, the flash of a passing warning light temporarily blinding his vision off and on, causing him to be disoriented and it made it hard to concentrate.

'Damn, they caught on faster than I hoped,' came the mental growl, a deep wince crossing his face with a nasty outward cuss, his ankle threatening to give out as he skidded across a corner. An enemy soldier and a few shots of gunfire was all he was greeted with, a hasty retreat made before he returned with his own gunfire. 'Just two more corridors, and I should be in the infirmary wing. If I take much longer, I'm never going to make it.'

The first two shots missed, his spinning vision nearly collapsing him and the grazing gunshot wound to his lower side wasn't immediately noticed with the adrenaline rush. The third shot finally hit target, well enough to drop the soldier in his way to the hard concrete floor. As it seemed as good as it was going to get for him, he made the rush past the preoccupied man, clutching at the wall for support with his free hand. He could already hear the footsteps stampeding at a small distance just out of his sight.

"I'm almost there," came the low growl, a frantic shove knocking the surprised soldier and her comrade back into the room they came from long enough for him to get by. The pressure of it sent a surge of agony up his arm, his calm logic long since having left him in his drugged and tired presence. This time, it was all about luck and stubbornness. "And being this close, I refuse to die, I refuse to go back!"

The coach was more to himself, catching sight of the exit sign right in front of him, just 30 yards or so in the distance. 'C'mon, c'mon, move it, No Name!'

The hallway itself left him at a disadvantage, for as long and straight off as it was, it left him an open target.

More shouts and gunfire thundered like the rage of the heavens through the halls, locked on a single target.


	4. And you are?

(Disclaimer: All gundam characters are property of their creator, any interwoven plotline and unknown characters are similar based on my own muse and creation. From this point on, to avoid confusion, Trowa will also be refered ti as Triton.)

\4/

4:30 A.M. Again, the annoying sound of a buzzing alarm clock filled the quite house. And again, the annoying little machine was saved by its short cord and the side table it was propped up on so the plug in was hard to tear from the wall. Otherwise, it'd be quickly thrown into the nearest wall with relief. But it was not to happen and Zoe knew it, dragging herself from her own bed and trying to wake herself. A stretch pulled through her entire body, nearly dropping her back to the bed at the feel of her loosened muscles, a splendid, lazy feeling indeed.

"This should be illegal," was all she ever mentioned, running an absent hand up and through her braids, pushing them back. With one eye open and the other working on it, she left the light off as she fiddled with the shower handles, letting the water run to warm itself before she jumped in. Why should she be up? The overrated sun wouldn't be dragging its own lazy face over the horizon for another few hours! 'Still,' she thought, snatching a can of soda, from the fridge for her "breakfast". 'I'm the one that told Toni I'd cover for her today. She asked me, just like everyone else, because they know I need the money and they know I'll say yes.'

It was her own habit, knowing that unless she were strapped to her own death bed that she'd be in to help any that needed it, covering shifts for hours and cash she could never seem to earn enough of to put them comfortably ahead for long. Everyone knew she was a "Jill of all Trades" and had her well earned time in most every position the hotel and restaurant offered, and could fill in on any part. But for all her work, between school and 40 hours a week and life, both Andi and Zoe never really seemed to be able to move out of their little rut in life.

"Just a double shift today," was all she could tell herself, stepping into the rainfall of hot water over herself, listening to the radio in the other room blasting a dance mix CD she used to help get herself going at times like these, "and then I've got tomorrow night off."

It didn't help that the restaurant opened to its sleepy guests at 7 every morning, meaning someone was always there at 6 to get everything set and ready behind the scenes for the day. Then it finally closed its doors at 10 PM every night, treating any who wanted to linger after their meals even after hours. At least for her senior year, she was able to schedule her days easier, taking all her classes in the first half of the day to leave her the rest of the day to work out in the real world, but still give her all the hours of credit she'd need to graduate. As long as she didn't flunk anything, that was.

The soft flurries weren't seen by her tired eyes outside the frosted over windows, and the music drowned out the ring of alarm sirens from the military base stationed a few miles beyond her rented house that already stood on the outskirts of town.

The biting cold wasn't nearly as noticeable as long as he kept moving, his eyes losing focus off and on, pulling him more than half of the time into tunnel vision or worse. It didn't help Trowa's getaway as much as he wanted it to, throwing off his coordination and steps, but for as hard of a time as he was having making his way through the trees and brush and tall hills that had long since been cleared of their crop, he had to be sure that it was making it just as hard for his pursuers. The tossing flurries would help cover his steps as he moved from one covered hiding place to another, the darkness helping hide both his steps and his form.

Trowa's hands were preoccupied with reaching to find something to guide himself with after holstering the unloaded gun in the back of his jeans, the other holding tight to his bleeding side. That's the last thing he needed was to lose any more blood.

He'd had to stop and hide just to tie off the deep graze against his outer right calf, feeling it burn as sweat covered his features from the effort of all the movement, his ankle thankfully numb from the growing piles of snow.

'I've gotta find someplace to stop, somewhere, anywhere.' He really just wanted to fall into the snow there and rest a little, a few minutes, maybe a few hours. Even for as wonderful as the offer sounded, logic chided him from the back of his mind, the pesky little thing. 'Don't be stupid, you try that, and you'll freeze to death. It doesn't matter if you're hidden in a crop field ditch, it just means you'd be in more snow. You can't die yet, remember?'

It might have been that he was so frustrated and angry with the fact that yet again, logic beat his tired wanting, or that he really didn't want to try and stop his body since it was still moving, but whatever the reason, his forced trudging went on with more will than it had before. The thick drifts of snow really didn't crunch, but more so gave way in his path with a little bit of resistance.

'I don't even know where I'm going anymore,' slipped to the front of his mind, his thoughts bitter as the snow that soon began to lay over him, slowly freezing his heated body and trying to draw him into a deadly sleep. 'I didn't even know where I was to start off with, they were careful to keep that information and even the base name secret enough from me.'

Wind gusts started to pick up from their lazy passes, tearing through anything in their path. Trowa lowered his head a bit, wincing as he shifted his hand over the side wound, ducking into the turtle neck collar of his now ratty shirt. It put up a little resistance against the wind, his hot breath creating a small pocket of warmth for anything it touched. Still, it was short lived and not very helpful.

"I just need to... sit down for a minute," he finally said aloud, as if to speak to make the offer more sensible and persuasive. If he sat down now, he knew he wouldn't be getting back up.

It was just before he gave into the begging of his tired body that his eyes caught a glow of orange on the clouds, the only light on that side of the heavy black clouds. Light. That much light had to mean a town, civilization, or at least somewhere he could find shelter even if it was only a warehouse. It was worth a shot.

"Just gotta get there," came his exhausted coach, pushing his legs to keep moving, almost having to crawl through the drifts and up the hillside now instead of weaving between them, his direction new. His soft panting turned into deeper, labored breaths, stumbling a time or two and letting his body fall over the snow or down the hills before he'd push himself back up. It was faster and he didn't have the strength to catch or stop himself anyway, that was a given.

His thoughts lingered to what that light held, taking his mind away a bit from the task at hand. 'I don't have any money, but I'm sure I can come by food somehow. Whether I have to work for it or by–other means. Maybe it'll be Sally's camp, or it'll have a church or a shelter I can stay in. It'll be warmer than here, that's for sure... warmth. I almost forget what it feels like right now. A soft bed, that would be wonderful... maybe a long hot shower too. Some fresh clothes I could borrow or find, a heavy jacket and newer shoes would be great to come by. Oh look, I can see the street lamps already!'

Trowa fancied himself with the thoughts, amusing enough to a tired mind as the morphine was wearing off, all too well at the wrong times, he pressed on for as long as he could stay conscious.

Finishing the knot of her long bandana, she tucked it and her new braids into her hoodie, pulling her spring jacket over the other layers of clothes she'd already taken on, Zoe reached for her keys and began to head out. At least she could walk to work this time, and not sprint, even if she would rather be driving or better yet, in bed.

"Today's gonna be great!" she offered to the air and the sleeping houses quite a bit further down the street. "At least we're gonna be busy all day. Now, as long as everyone feels extra generous, I might be able to eat today!" With a shiver and a chatter of her teeth, a small laughter escaped behind them like a good inside joke that snuck up on you from time to time. She knew she was weird and unique at times, even seen as crazy and more at other times. That's what made life more bearable, at least for her, and to be in her profession, it had to be obvious that one was crazy to survive the unwritten and uncharted demands of everyone that would come to cross their paths.

'A half hour to get there, get warmed up, and clock in–,' but something more caught her eyes, a flash of an off white cloth, moving but not as naturally as the wind would blow something. Then she heard the footsteps that followed with it, pushing on tiredly before the paranoid young woman began to put two and two together. Someone was coming in her direction, someone who had been walking down the long empty road for who knows how long. Who would be out walking frm the middle of nowhere in nothing but a torn shirt and tattered white jeans at 5:30 in the morning? No one of their own free will, at least.

It was against her better judgement that Zoe turned, making her way back down the road to her rented house and past it to the figure. It was hard to make out the face, but a young man, near ghost white and covered in snow by what she actually could tell.

"Hey, sir! Do you need some help? Did your car break down or something?" A quick trot was picked up his way, still hesitant to keep her distance though to this stranger.

Trowa wasn't sure if it was his imagination or more as he peeked up with clouded eyes at the town that was closer than it had been a while ago when he'd last looked. Was he right? Was that a voice, a real voice? It took a minute before he spotted them, his mind a little slow in response. Again, adrenaline came to him and set him on edge, hesitant before he realized what the young woman was getting at, their small trust in each other mutual but not much. "What?"

Zoe squinted a little into the darkness, trying to make out the dark patches on him to confirm that it was blood, as she decided on it and stripped off her outer jacket. "Holy crap, what happened to you? You look like you've been in an accident. Hey, c'mon, my house is right here, you're freezing to death out here."

Even if his mind told him to be skeptical, he honestly didn't give a damn at that point, letting her lay the heated jacket over his shoulders, even if it was kinda small, it blocked the wind and after a few moments, warmed his numb body. House, heat, rest. Trowa gave in, it was all he could do, not ever really answering the girl about his age and instead, made a weak nod before he followed with shaking steps. 'Almost there. I can finally stop and rest soon.'

Zoe wasn't quite sure what to do, for a moment or two before she put a hand to his arm, her other to his back, helping lead him up to the house at his own pace. The guy looked like he could already pass for dead if his eyes didn't shift from time to time at something new as if it snuck up on him, his breathing heavy like he'd come a long ways. "Look, we'll get you inside and help you warm up and all, but you've gotta stay awake for me, all right?" That was just common sense, but her words were loud and coaxing as if she were talking to a child, as it seemed that was how he'd respond to them.

Hesitating at the door to fumble around for her keys, she quickly opened the door and pushed it aside, supporting him at the small step up and into the household from the walkway, turning on the hall light and kicking the door closed behind her. 'At least I've got an excuse to be late today,' she thought half heartedly, grinning a little to herself. She'd like to see how they tried to give her a point for something like this, or rather, how she argued herself out of it.

She took the jacket from his shoulders, brushing the snow off of him before it melted and soaked into his clothes. Then again, with slow steps, she lead him to the couch, taking up the old blanket from over the back of it and wrapped it around him. "Just hang on a minute and I'll go get a few more before you sit down, okay?"

Trowa kept his eyes down, not wanting to really even respond to her, tugging the warm blanket closer as the heat from the house made him drowsy, comforting his sore, icy frame. He didn't know how much longer he could really keep his legs locked in place, but that didn't matter right now. He didn't have to move. He could hide away from that snow, that wind, that ugly night; hide himself away from those that wanted to take his life and from that condemned base. For now, he was safe with a strange young woman he didn't know, in a place he didn't know. And they didn't know him, was the best part. For now, he could rest.

The weight of a second, then a third thick blanket all but collapsed him to the ground, again the hazy feel of guiding hands helping him onto worn out cushions of the girl's couch. His weary legs folded out haphazardly in front of him, his screaming muscles giving away to strong pulses of pain with the return of feeling instead. In exhaustion, Trowa finally closed his eyes, not paying any mind to the young woman's earlier warnings. He just needed a little rest, then he'd get out of her way. Just a little.

Zoe searched quickly for her cell phone in her apron pockets, rummaging through pens and change and old tickets to find it. Turning it on, she glanced sidelong at the young man, pretty sure that when he was healthy, he was easy on the eyes. Well, hopefully when he did get healthy. "Sir, open your eyes. You've gotta stay awake for me for right now, okay?" Reaching out, she cupped his frozen cheek, trying to call his attention to something more and wake him a bit, again, speaking loudly.

The numb touch was odd and it did startle Trowa's mind a little, his curiosity getting the better of him and his eyelids fluttered a minute before they opened. He found that the touch was that of her hand, her fingertips a little cooler from having been outside, but they were still warmer than him. There was the scent of violets, it had to be a lotion or spray of some kind, his mind slow to pick up on his surroundings. She was talking again, to him? He hadn't really paid much attention. Looking up, a hard squint was given before he found the cell phone in her hands, her fingers moving over the keypad. "Who..?"

"It's okay," Zoe offered a smile, shifting the blanket a bit closer around him, still trying to keep his attention so he'd stay conscious. "I'm getting you help. I'm calling for an ambulance and you'll get all the care you need at the hospital."

At first, he let it go as nothing before realization began to panic in the back of his mind. Even for as far as he'd had to come, this was the closest place to that base, there were bound to be military forces all around here. Ambulance, no, the hospital was completely out of the question! Word got around too easily and for everyone that came through and went through them, he'd be thrown back in square one, if they let him live that long when they found him!

"No!" The yell wasn't very loud but it was frantic, his voice scratchy and hoarse from the cold air.

Zoe eyed the injured young man, confused and thrown from her train of thought before she even sent the call, not sure that they were both on the same idea. "Excuse me? Look, it's okay, I just want to help you," she tried again, trying to somehow straighten it in his mind. He must be delirious.

This time, with a new energy he pulled on, he snatched out for the phone, dropping the blankets from his hands. His movements were too slow and as he reached out further to try and catch it when she jumped back, he was left crumbled on his knees on the carpet, hissing at the instant drop of weight onto his injuries. She couldn't call them! "Just put it down, don't call."

The plead was pitiful, leaving a small silence between the two for a split second or more, but it seemed like much longer. What was this guy afraid of, Zoe had to wonder. What happened to him that left him like this, but he didn't want any certified help for? Either way, whether he was in trouble or mentally unstable, she had to make the decision that was right for him even if he was against it. "Look, I promise it's–..."

And now Trowa had no choice, reaching to pull the cold gun from under his shirt, the aim hazy but it wouldn't matter. He had to scare her, bluff his way out of this. He had no way around this if she wasn't going to give in any other way.

"I said no." The words were torture on his throat, causing the breaths that rose past them to burn the raw flesh.

Zoe stopped her movements, eyes widened as she swallowed hard, all her attention on the shining weapon. She'd never been held at gunpoint before. "Okay, I'll drop it. Just– don't do anything rash, please?" She gave a small squeeze as the phone snapped shut on itself before she dropped it to the carpet, even giving it a small kick off to her new captor. Why hadn't she just gone to work instead?! "I was just trying to help. I don't know a ton about this stuff, but you're gonna bleed to death if you don't get to a doctor, sir."

Resting back a bit against the couch, he searched numbly for the phone, taking it and shutting it off before managing to slip it into his jean pocket before he lowered the gun back to his lap, but kept it in view to keep her at bay. "I go, and I will be dead."

Startled a bit, Zoe was hesitant but stood where she was, watching the man in her home. It wasn't how she envisioned being held prisoner would be like. The look on his face made her almost sure he wouldn't have shot her, but his beliefs were way off from anything she'd come across before. So instead, she was quiet, crossing her arms in front of her chest and glancing side long at the clock with a wince. She would have to be sprinting out the door right now to make it to work on time, and it wasn't like she could really call in sick. Right now, she really couldn't call anyone! Still, it was odd how he held the gun tiredly, more interested at tugging the blankets back around him than threatening her. If he tried to fall asleep again, she could probably overpower him to get the gun away, at least.

"Why?" She broke the silence, curiosity killed the cat but she'd had pretty good luck with it so far, maybe she'd cheat fate one more time. Zoe never expected an answer.

Now forced to keep his eyes open, focusing on taking in his environment, he held weakly to the blankets over him, relishing the heat. "There's too many of "them" here."

"Them?" Confusion came easy to Zoe, and even more when she was intent on knowing something that no one would give her a straight answer for. "Are you in trouble with a gang, or the law, or someone else around? Hey, I was just trying to be a good person and help out someone in need before I went to work, that's all I wanted to do today. And my roommate and her boyfriend are going to be coming by sometime today, so they're gonna know something's up if they call and I don't answer and I'm not at work, and then you'll have more than them and an ambulance to worry about."

'Damn it all,' were his meager thoughts, a soft growl coming to his lips and ending in a whine. That meant he'd have to get up and move again, find somewhere else to hide himself. Who was he kidding, he couldn't even stay standing now that he'd sat down. 'I can't risk it if she's telling the truth, or even if she's lying. But I can't even get my body under control, and I won't even be conscious if I don't get this blood flow stanched. What am I going to do now? What can I do?'

His refusal to answer her gave Zoe a little more confidence, but she wasn't so sure she wanted to be upset with him all that much as she watched him grip at a hidden injury, listening to his small calls of pain. "Look, I'm just gonna sit down since we're in MY house that I work VERY hard to rent out, okay?"

Again, a small nod was her only answer, Zoe watching the young man struggle to keep his eyes open, the small color that was tainting his face was fading away again into a sickly pale color. She felt sorry for him, even behind all her apprehension and her fear and indignation. "Soldiers are out looking for you, aren't they?" she guessed, reaching out for any other reason she might have to get rid of the unwanted silence. His quick glance her way told her she was right, even if he yet again, refused to answer. "That must have been why the radio show was talking about it and the sirens going off. I'm not even gonna ask what you did."

Was he that obvious? Maybe, he couldn't tell right now. With a hard gulp, he tried to focus enough to see the clock on the wall, but he couldn't really even make out the large numbers or even see where the hands were pointing to on it. "I just... need a little rest, then I'll leave."

"You'll die first," came the observation, seeing as how he wasn't too happy about putting his hand on the gun or even the trigger right now, so it wouldn't be as easy to push him to it as long as it was just the two of them. "You know it too. Look, I'm not gonna call them, or give you off to them. Can I at least try and help you?"

Death, even his as a complete stranger, was not something she wanted on her hands, regardless of who he was. It was obvious he wasn't a world renowned dictator and mass torturer, and he didn't look like the devil, so he couldn't be terrible. Sure, it was all a guess on what she'd seen so far, but usually she was pretty good at games like this, at reading people and finding their limits and personalities in a short time on instant meetings. The stakes were a little higher now, but the game was the same.

"You swear?" Did it really matter? He couldn't stop her anyway if she lied.

"I swear," she offered up, standing again slowly. He didn't pay her any mind yet again, letting the blankets fall away from his shoulders.

He knew he'd regret it later, but a hard squeeze, or as much of a one as he could manage, was given to his side wound to force his body into another adrenaline rush, waking him a bit more as he choked back the growl he wanted to let go of. He could feel another pulse of blood run over his fingers and down his side, leaving him light headed again and nearly blacked out.

Zoe leaned down beside her "new guest", offering help up and having to more so pull him to his feet. A wince was all she gave as she heard the gun thud into a new resting place on the floor, hoping he didn't notice before she half carried him down the hall and into the bathroom.

A flip of the switch sparked a groan from him, the light brighter and making him look that much more worse for it. "Wow."

'Okay, he's still frozen cold, so we gotta get him warm.' Setting out everything she noticed in her mind and putting them in order of importance, she closed the curtain and turned on the shower, letting the hot faucet stay on at full strength. Then, she rummaged through the cabinets, coming out with a first aid kit he roommate was thankfully very persistent about having and the peroxide. "We're gonna need to get that shirt off."

Her voice was only half heard as he tried to give into sleep again, clutching at the wall to help hold himself up, resting on the closed toilet seat. Shirt? He wasn't sure if he could manage that. He was glad when she offered to do it for him, but at the first movement of his wounded arm, he tensed up and gave a hoarse shout of surprise, the idea not even close to welcome anymore. "I... can't," was all he managed between breaths, gasping softly.

"Sorry!" The apology jumped from her lips almost as fast as his shout had, before concern came over her again. The shirt had to go. Taking the small pair of scissors from the kit at her side, she reached up to the end of his sleeve, speaking as she began to snip away as carefully but quickly as she could. "Well, the shirt's a rag now anyway. And it's gotta come off, so, I hope you don't mind me cutting it up!"

Trowa could have cared less if she was setting him on fire. He was quiet as he let her work, closing his eyes again but always managing to call his attention back enough to keep him responsive and to hold himself up.

"I guess you seem like you can be an okay guy," came the remark, pulling the shirt away and wincing as she reached for a hand towel, wetting it to help wash away the blood so she could see his wounds. There was bruising around his mid chest, causing her to wince in memory when she'd fractured her own ribs once. This guy may well have had his broken. She was careful, especially after his small jump and grimace as she cleaned the gash into his side. It wasn't terrible, but it'd been open for a while, obviously, wider than something left by a blade, and deep enough it ran over muscle but it just bled excessively. It would probably leave a good sized scar, but if she put a strong, constant pressure on it, it should stop bleeding to heal on its own. She didn't have anything to stitch it with and super glue worked well on smaller, thinner cuts. When she'd cleaned it as best as she could, she reached for the gauze with the antibiotic cream and the ace wrap. Pressing it tight to the wound and waiting until he stilled before she wrapped it in place, she continued. "And I'm kinda tired of just calling you "him" or "you", so I'll set an example. My name's Esperanzo, but everyone just calls me Zoe."

Trowa could feel Zoe tie off the tight wrap, not wanting to move to agitate it now, as he listened and let her examine his shoulder wound. He knew with all his movement, he'd pulled a stitch or two, the bleeding almost stopped but a bandage change would be needed anyway, slowly lowering his guard to a minimum for the time. She didn't seem like a bad person at all, maybe just a little too observant for her own good. He pondered a few moments, grateful for a distraction to keep him going as he felt his body thaw in full at last and a few shivers ran over him, but he was heating up. Heating up maybe just a little too much, the steam making it harder to breath and starting to become uncomfortable.

As if catching his silent train of thought, Trowa saw her shift and reach back, shutting the shower off and propping the door open a little to let some of the heat out, before returning to putting the new gauze over the front and back of his shoulder, taping each in place. "Triton," was all that came to his mind, the name Cathy had said to him in teasing after the his hazy past and her disappearance of her own baby brother many years before. "Triton Bloom," he lied, the words a little harder to hear through their cracks and airy whispers, his voice threatening to give out on him in his tired state.

"Triton," she tested, repeating the half slurred word back to the sluggish young man. Another one of his small nods was all she got before she sat back, daring to venture again without much thought. "I don't suppose you'd call into work for me," she sighed, only thinking about what she said after it had left her lips, as was her habit. Zoe hesitated only a moment before deciding on her next actions, taking up the scissors again and pulling lightly on the hems of his jeans, spotting the blood on them and it had to be taken care of. Sure that she only had to cut them along the seams up to the knee, she folded the cloth back and did so to the other leg before eyeing what she had to deal with. "It's different, I know I'm not really one to be talking, but I like the sound of it."

Offering a smile to his blank expression, she reached for the rag again, rinsing and wringing it out in the last of the hot water in the tub, before cleaning up the gash along his leg. It was similar to the one on his side, not nearly as deep though, and both looked like the stitched gunshot wound in his shoulder. With the bruises and his eagerness to stay hidden from everyone, it wasn't out of the question that he was a prisoner himself, and escaped. There were so many different groups and revolts and more in the ridiculous war between earth and space and everyone in between that she didn't try and dive into the subject.

When the silence became too tense and thick between the two, it was Trowa that decided to break it. "Like I said, I just needed a place to rest. When you're done," he forced out, lightly touching his throat and wincing, shivering a little before he caught her shift to close the door and grab a fresh, large towel from under the sink cupboards, offering it up to him to replace the blankets. He took it without thought or regret. "I'll leave like nothing happened."

Zoe had no choice but to laugh, standing and grabbing into the small cabinet they'd hung over the toilet, pulling out an ankle brace she often used for herself. Her legs and wrists always took a good beating in her job as a server. "Man, you're either crazy, trying to be funny, or both! You're gonna walk out: without a shirt, half sick, ready to pass out, and into a snowing day that's only supposed to get as warm as 12 degrees. Besides that, I've got to clean the blood out of the carpet and couch, and just toss out the first blanket I gave you, not including cleaning the blood out of my jacket, taking care of this mess, and trying to explain to my manager why I'm still not there right now? I'm supposed to forget," she continued, still getting a good laugh out of the irony of everything, "that you also stole my phone and pulled a gun on me. For your sake, I really hope you're on drugs to be saying something like that."

Gritting his teeth against the feel of the tightening straps, he could tell the difference now that his ankle was immobilized and kept his eyes down, taking everything in. As ridiculous as she was being about it, she was right. But he couldn't ask her to understand it, and it was for her own safety that she didn't. He never had the intention to really barge into a life like this. In a feeble movement, he tugged the heavy towel a bit closer, fumbling for a moment before weakly raising a tired hand to her, offering up her phone. "Here," he managed with the last of his voice, trying to mentally wake himself and take control again, he'd have to leave and do so now.

Eyeing him a minute, Zoe slowly reached for the phone as if it were a joke, still skeptical. "I'm confused. You wanna explain this to me, Triton?"

"Triton" eased himself back against the nearest wall, using it as support while he waited for the room to stop spinning, his adrenaline crash hitting him like a ten ton brick after all the rushes he forced his body through. "Go to work," he whispered, again cradling his throat lightly. "Go on with life, I'll leave."

He couldn't be serious, Zoe was pretty sure, or at least she almost hoped not. It's not like she'd intended for a detour like this, even if it was a little more welcome than work right now. Of course she needed the extra money to help out, but money was material, and she did just keep Triton from death. She could just imagine listening to the news on her break between shifts, hearing about someone finding a gun shot victim laying in some snowbank, collapsed of hypothermia and died of blood loss. Life, even the most pathetic, had more value than that to her. Not really sure what to do from that point, Zoe slipped out into the hall, closing the bathroom door behind her and ignoring the few chirps from her friend's birds. She was surprised they weren't up earlier.

Triton listened to the steps fade off down the hall, paying no attention to which direction they went, just resting where he was. It didn't matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get motivated to move. For the time, he gave up, letting his mind drift elsewhere. By now, the other four should already be in space. The others probably all thought he was dead too. He should be. It might have been easier if he was. If he could just live long enough to get there, maybe he could finally get back to the circus and stay with them, not just having to hide away anymore between missions. Somewhere he could stay, somewhere he might call home. That was the freedom of being "dead", the military hounds that trailed them for so long finally just brush past them and leave them be. Yeah, that sounded nice.

With reluctance, he forced his eyes open, listening partially to Zoe as she held the phone up to her ear with her shoulder, the young woman closing the door behind her again and holding up a baggy, blank t-shirt. Was that supposed to replace his shirt? Well, at least it was dry, and whole, even if it wouldn't be any more help against the cold than his other shirt. At least it was something.

"Hey, Maggie, it's Zoe. Sorry to leave you guys high and dry this morning," she spoke, coming to her decision as she bunched up the shirt, helping Triton put his arms into it so he wouldn't have to do much with his healing shoulder. "But Andrea came home late last night, and she's been really sick all this morning. I've been so busy trying to take care of her that I forgot to call."

It took a moment for the clues to sink in as he kept quiet, struggling a minute to get the shirt over his head but sunk into it quickly, it obviously having been thrown into the dryer before she brought it to him. Triton was still trying to figure out what she was talking about. It was just him and Zoe right now, so why was she lying and stalling time?

"Yep... mhmph, I finally got her to lay down... no, she doesn't work tonight but I do. Will should be out of school by then to come watch her... Yeah, I'm sorry, but you guys should be fine until the rest of the lunch shift gets there. I should be in tonight, could you tell the managers for me? Thanks a lot, Maggie, you're a big help. Bye!"

The conversation was short lived as Zoe slipped the phone back into her apron pocket, eyeing Triton's skeptical face. "Look, I can't do anything else about those pants except make them into shorts for you, or try and sew them back up and try and patch the holes if you want, but when Will gets here, I'll see if he's got some extra clothes you can borrow. I "stole" a few of my older brother's shirts, and he was huge and then a "macho man" on top of everything, so it should work, even if it could almost be a dress."

A small chuckle passed between the two from the woman's lips, waiting on his reactions.

Triton was a little surprised, but still uncertain of her and her intentions. For what she'd just ranted on about earlier, it was a bit odd that she was calling off of work now. Could he trust her? "Why?" A few coughs left his lips with another grimace, followed by a few sniffles but he still didn't stand or move. If he followed what she said, there would still be company and leave him at a disadvantage, but the way she said it, there wouldn't even be the thought of a threat.

Zoe didn't waste any time before she turned back to the medicine cabinet, sliding the mirrored door open and reaching for the cold medicine. It probably wouldn't be enough, for as long as it looked like that he'd spent outside, but it would help a little. It was a start. "Well," she started, reading the directions before pouring out the thick, red liquid. "You said if I left, you'd leave, and we both know that's not the smartest, and nearly the stupidest thing you could do right now. I didn't just patch all that up for nothing, did I? That means if I stay, I can make you stay, until you're well enough to leave, or at least go somewhere that you can be well. I mean, I'm confusing even to myself a lot of the time," she called, the words followed by a smirk and offering out the medicine to the mystery man in front of her. "But I thought I was being pretty straight forward, Triton. Take this, it'll help with your pneumonia wanna be, or whatever it really is, and then since I'm awake now, I guess I can go clean up and you can use my bed, and you should probably eat something after taking this."

Her steps had been watched carefully enough, Triton catching sight of the bottle and for lack of wanting to argue, he took it and downed it as best as he could. The bitter taste took him by surprise and made him cringe a little, but he said nothing to her chiding, feeling the thick liquid coat his sore throat and ease it. The whole ordeal really was too good to be true, and probably a trick, a warm meal, fresher clothes, shelter, and a warm bed. He had an all too overwhelming shot of thinking it was a trick. But it was at this point as he took her help up, again using Zoe for support, that he really didn't care. His stubbornness had finally run out and one look at that bed and he could happily sign his soul over to the devil that same moment.

Zoe kept her thoughts to herself, helping him to the bed and trying not to fall over into it with him before covering him, watching in more amusement as Triton seemed to be asleep nearly as soon as he hit the pillows. Pretty sure, or at least hoping that he was warmed enough before letting him sleep, Zoe wandered back down the hall and turned the thermostat up. She'd have to wake him in a few hours to make sure, and he may as well get a bit of breakfast if he had to be awake.

"Andi's gonna kill me," came the slow realization, reaching into the closet and pulling out work rags and cleaning spray, putting her apron on the kitchen table before heading to the living room. "She knows I can't turn down strays, and I can't have a puppy," came the whine to herself, rolling up her sleeves before beginning to scrub at the blood blotches like mad. Then, another funny little thought came to her mind as she put the gun carefully on the bookshelf, she'd get rid of it later. "They only said puppy, and even if he is puppy-like, it still doesn't make him a puppy. Besides, they just said I couldn't keep it, they didn't say I couldn't let him stay just long enough to rest." A giddy grin overtook her at the odd events, a bit adventurous as they were compared to the mundane, routine life the girls lived. Zoe often wished her life were more like the books she read, just to mix things up. "Rest up, Triton Bloom, our temporary, new little puppy-boy."


	5. Benefit of a doubt

(Disclaimer: All gundam characters are property of their creator, any interwoven plotline and unknown characters are similar based on my own muse and creation. From this point on, to avoid confusion, Trowa will also be refered ti as Triton.)

\5/

Duo shifted a beneath the blankets, unconsciously careful of his own sore side but not really paying much attention to the warm sun peeking in at him off and on through the broken cloud cover. He didn't even give a thought to the lazy feeling he had, until something hit him a little clearer in the back of his mind. He liked to sleep in, he was sleeping in, or trying to right now. So why wasn't he being woken up at some ungodly, dark hours of the morning and heading out with the others? His dark navy blues snapped open, glancing around the room for a few minutes before settling. Heero was still asleep in his own bed and all else was fairly quiet except the old, lazy steps of their boarding house hostess moving about as they always did. A sigh of relief overtook him as he stretched out in his own time, the warm bed coaxing again and he reached for the blanket that he'd tossed aside in his dreams.

"Man, for a minute, I thought everyone left me behind!" The words were lively but quiet, almost smug seeming at the thought that they'd actually leave him behind like some irresponsible kid late for class.

Quatre was quiet as he entered, catching the waking American youth with a tired smirk and closing the door lightly behind him. He'd just come in to see if either of the roommates here were as restless as he felt. Wufei had gone to tend to a few upgrades and changes he wanted to make on his hidden Nataku.

"We were thinking about it," came the tease, quiet to let the second boy sleep as he made his way over to sit beside Duo on his bed. "But we decided against it and everyone just kind of relaxed back to bed. We tried to wake you four different times, Duo, and you'd mumble something and just turn over."

The American youth managed a sheepish grin and a small chuckle before returning back to the oddity at hand. "Really, gee, thanks. So, are we scrapping the whole mission or is it just delayed? And why? What happened?"

Confused and a bit curious about Duo and how he managed to be oblivious to the events of the night before, Quatre hid his smirk and simply shook his head. "I suppose you slept right through the sirens then last night too, didn't you? The base has been on high alert ever since last night because someone managed to get in and get back out and mess with everything we planned. At least, that's what rumors are. Either way, they've doubled and even tripled the guard in some portions, and the cargo shipment we were going to use as a distraction was redirected to another base for now. We won't have a decent shot of getting in and making it out with a shuttle at all until things quiet down for now. That, and the next closest base with a shuttle and launch ability is at least five or six hours drive from here. So for now," he finished with a sigh, watching his clasped hands in his lap. "We wait it out, is what we've decided on. After that, Wufei went out, Heero passed out again, and I've been wandering around aimlessly and bored."

Sitting up in the bed and deciding it'd probably be best just to stay up, Duo gave a small yawn and stretched his arms to his sides, blinking the last of the sleep from his eyes. "Well, this sucks then. Stupid people just have to go and ruin all our careful plans and screw us over. It happens every time. But either way," he finish with a mischievous grin, "I'm hungry and that's all that matters now."

At first, it was hard to place before Triton realized the sounds he heard were music, the radio muffled by the closed door to the room he was in. Every once in a while, a set of chirps would join in, not really his idea of a soothing song bird, but the sounds seemed content enough with their environment. He had to take a few minutes to finally realize his own new environment, and how he got there.

He remembered that morning, or had it been longer than that already? No, it couldn't be, Zoe had been waking him up off and on to check on him or bring in more of the cold medicine.

The walls of the room were covered in posters, many of them of fantasy settings or actors, a few paintings and professional sketches, a few concert shirts displayed here or there. There was a large, older, wooden dresser propped to the inside of the door, keeping it convenient and out of the way. A small, overstuffed bookcase, a hanging round mirror, and an artist's desk occupied the other side of the wall of the door, a closet settled in nicely to fill the last of the space. He realized the bed he was using now was down quite low, on the floor but it wasn't uncomfortable, tucked in the last corner of the room right next to the tall window. The blinds were shut and did well at keeping the room darker, a snowflake mobile of cut glass hanging just above his head. It sparkled even with the small glow it was catching from the window.

A hanging planter sat on each side of the window, a small string of starting planters sitting on the window sill, the silhouette on the blinds showing that the plants were growing and just as healthy they as could be.

The room had no particular theme or occasion, it was just as it was, and it did seem to fit in its own sense with what he could try and make out from the living room earlier that morning.

With a tired sigh, he was giving into the drowsiness he felt before he tried to shift off of his back. A hiss to his surprise and the added weight around his ankle wasn't welcome at all before he gave himself an analysis. He could feel the chill of the ice on his skin, the leg propped up on a few throw pillows from elsewhere. And for lack of wanting to bring back the pain that was now numb to him, he stayed still and rested back where he was. 'I have a strong feeling that this is going to get even more interesting than this morning was,' came the sleepy thought, but his stomach finally spoke up with a sharp twist and a low growl of its own. 'That's right, I fell asleep before anything else. I'm not sure what I should even expect from these people. I don't even know what–..,' but the smell of a cooking meal drifted to him first and he unconsciously clutched a little tighter at his stomach. He hadn't eaten in days, and now his protesting body was making sure he couldn't forget it.

For a few minutes, he almost wondered if he could pull himself up, but he was selfishly content with the heated blankets and resting his fatigued body. He could feel the sharp scratch of his throat with every breath and was sure if he called out, being unwise in the situation he was in for as vulnerable as he was, that his voice wouldn't support him long enough to make a word.

'She should be making her way back anyway,' Triton reasoned hopefully, 'she had mentioned a meal before. That is, as long as she kept to her word.'

Unlikely, that's what it was. That type of chivalry where a person was as good as their word died ages before, even the hopefully naive knew better!

Zoe hit the speed dial button on her phone, again cradling it to her ear as she fussed over the slow cooker, stirring the home made soup and testing the flavor a bit. Chicken noodle from scratch on a cold winter day, it was perfect! Thankfully it made a big batch, because that was the last of their cuts of chicken, all the noodles were put into it and still to add for an extra few meals, she tossed some macaroni noodles they had nothing else to fix with, and they were now out of chicken flavor cubes.

"Don't tell me you lost your phone again, pick up, chica!" The drone of the ringing in her ear annoyed Zoe. "Well, at least we've got enough crackers to feed a nation, so when we get down to the broth..."

"What are you talking about?" Piped up from the other line, a small smile heard in Andrea's voice.

"You do live!" was the tease back, Zoe replacing the lid and putting the spoon on a plate so it didn't drip everywhere. She'd just cleaned the house, the last thing she wanted to do right now was mess it up yet again. "Hey chica, I'm just making soup so, after it's gone, we're completely out of edible food unless you wanna use water instead of milk for those pasta packets, but then you're eating them by yourself."

"Great," was the sarcastic remark, the sound of a weather forecast from the radio echoing between static. "I'll see if we can cut down a little on gas and try and get some milk and maybe something else to eat for now. Wait, aren't you supposed to be working today?"

Zoe gave a sheepish grin to herself and a hesitant laugh, biting her lower lip as she made her way back to the dinner table they had set in a corner of the living room. The kitchen and main room were fairly open to each other, the hallway stretching out to the bedrooms and bathroom. The back enclosed porch was closed and locked off from the outside, the little laundry nook anything but flashy. "About that," she started.

"Zoe, what did you do? You didn't quit, did you? I know they wouldn't be stupid enough to fire you, but we don't have any way of getting by if you don't have a job!"

"No, that's not it," she butted in, holding her head in one hand and using the other to switch the phone to her opposite shoulder, taking up a pencil and sketching lightly over her classroom portfolio. She had a habit of doing it and taking up many more pages with "random" drawings than they were assigned, already working on her second book from her art teacher. "Look, when you get into town, don't worry about the food or milk or anything. Just come straight to the house, please? I really need you to do this for me!"

Unpersuaded, Andi's voice called back with a warning tone. "And why should I do that? I was supposed to get that free lunch the managers owe me at work and I was gonna do that and then come home and relax. What'd you do?"

With a sigh, Zoe began, "That's just it, you're supposed to be at home already with a nasty flu bug. You're supposed to be half dying in your own bed because I had to call off. Just hide in the back seat or something until you get to the house, let Will drive, but I really need you to help me, chica."

"Did you oversleep again?"

"No! Andi, I kinda can't explain this over the phone because I'm really not sure how I can explain it at all. Please, please, please just do this for me! I'll do all your chores and homework for a month!" A whine came from Zoe as she dropped the pencil, begging her stubborn friend.

"Fine, but I still think you're crazy. And you're explaining everything when I get back, got it?"

"Thanks a ton, I will, and I'm still going to work tonight. See ya when you get here, Andi, you and Will be careful!" A Cheshire cat grin slipped over her lips, her pent up breath released. With a touch of a button and a snap of her folding cell phone, she tucked it into the pocket of her lounge pants and reached up to tighten her pony-tail. She'd already taken the braids out, the hair having dried in them and left her pulled back hair in ripples and waves stronger than her natural curl. At least she wouldn't have to fix herself up for work now except to change back into her uniform, but that was later.

Later. It had already been a few hours since her last visit down the hall and the young woman was sure by now the ice packs had thawed and almost turned back to room temperature. She'd just have to re-freeze them.

Standing from her place at the table side and moving back to her own room she slipped the door open as quietly as she could manage before peeking in. To her surprise, he was awake, but with his dazed look, it was hard to tell if he was in the same reality or not. "Mr. Bloom?"

Triton's eyes came from their closer observations over a few of the paintings and settled on Zoe, managing to see her clearly for the first time. He paused a minute to place the name, he wasn't used to it as an alias, before he tried to shift himself into a sitting position. It was odd and a little labored, but he managed after a moment, feeling a little uneasy about the silence between them. "I'm awake for now. I didn't mean to cause this hassle..."

Zoe watched the young man a minute more before smiling inwardly. Now that he was a bit cleaned up and the color was slowly coming back to him, she was right, he was easy on the eyes. Even for as often as he seemed to lower his own. The bruising around his left cheek wasn't nearly as enticing, but it would heal, like the rest of him. "That's what they all say," she teased, giving him a smile in return. It was a "bad habit" she'd been taught when she started serving. If worse comes to worse, kill them with a smile and hospitality. "I just came to see if you were still sleeping or not, and if you wanted lunch. It should be done, I'm just keeping it warm. You don't mind soup, do you? We're kinda broke right now, but we make due so it's not a problem."

Still a little skeptical, Triton thought over the idea a moment. He really should be trying to get going. With a stubborn growl, his stomach spoke for him again before he could decide on what he really should be doing. He just hoped it wasn't as loud as he thought it was or as badly as it felt. "Actually, I should be..." but he let the hoarse words go with a few blinks. She was gone.

Zoe was already down the hall, listening to his attempt at words but it didn't matter all that much. She'd already had two bowls out, filling the last one up and snatching out for the crackers from the cupboard. "Well, Andi and Will won't be here for another few hours anyway, and there's enough to go around a few times, so you'll just have to let me know if you want any more, all right?" she called back down the hall, taking up a small child's lap tray and balancing both bowls and the box of crackers on it before she made her way back to the room.

Without a thought or even his permission, Zoe reached into the closet and pulled out a few extra pillows she'd intended to use the stuffing from since they were overused, and add it to a few of the pitiful stuffed animals she'd found thrown out. She'd fix the stuffed toys later and donate them, but for now, she propped the pillows up against the wall, laying one of the blankets that was on Triton's lap and tucking it around the pillows to keep them in place. "You can try all you want," she warned, offering to help him sit back against the pillows and readjust his leg rest, knowing that even still he was trying to mask his starved look. "But fair warning is that it's pretty hard to hide things from me."

"So I guessed," he replied, taking the help and giving into it. He could fall into the character she wanted to see him as, and open himself a little in their personality as Triton Bloom instead of Trowa Barton. "Thanks," he offered, keeping his eyes off away from her as she fussed and did as she wanted, only looking down when she put the tray over his lap and the large bowl of soup and the simple but delicious smell came to him like the song of a Siren. He was careful not to rush too fast with the hot dish, but wasted no time in trying to eat all the same.

"It's okay," she offered to the small talk, taking a seat on the floor with her own bowl, more interested in watching his reactions than really even eating herself. She was used to one meal a day just for as often as she worked and for what she could afford. Kind of like walking for a full eight to ten hours straight, her body just accepted it and learned to deal with it. "You know, I'll warn you right now, people call me weird at times for good reason, but if I were you, I wouldn't be surprised by me, okay?"

Triton gave a small nod, using the spoon to break up the soggy crackers before taking another bite, careful at the feeling of food actually hitting the bottom of his empty stomach, but he beared it when a warm contentness began to fill him. It wasn't a culinary dish to die for, but it was pretty good for what it was, and right now, that's all that mattered to him.

Another few minutes passed in silence before it again began to annoy the Latin youth, so Zoe took a small bite or two from her own bowl before she spoke again, rummaging through a hidden chest beside her bed for a small radio and her CDs. When you were broke, you made do with what you had, regardless if it was out dated or not. "Are you always this talkative? One of these times, I'm going to get a full sentence out of you, Mr. Bloom." Finding her prize, she pulled it out, searching for something decent to listen to as she put the small radio on top of the chest, putting a CD into it and plugging the player in.

A small sigh came from Triton's lips, his mind settling on her words before he spoke again, calm and soft as he was accustomed to. "Triton is just fine, Zoe. And not to be rude, but you talk enough for the both of us."

For a split second, Zoe was almost a little shocked. He spoke, and not just with small gestures this time! Catching the small spark of surprise at her instant giggle, Zoe grinned almost proudly. "Nasty habit I got from my mom, but I get bored with thinking all the time, Triton." She emphasized his name in play and leaned back, searching for a song on the disk. "And for as much pushing as I had to do, I finally got two whole sentences out of you. AND it didn't kill you, so we made progress!"

Her chipper attitude was almost a bit much for him as he returned back to his own lunch, quiet again as if to unconsciously spite her. She reminded him of Cathy, always pushing to try and open him up when he was so set in remaining solitary. He was fine with staying in his own mind, keeping to his own thoughts, not just having long talks with a complete stranger. Triton was grateful for her help, but right now, that's all that needed to be thankful for.

He could hear her shift and push a few more buttons on the radio, as he slowed to finish off the last of his meal, becoming full very quickly. Halfway through trying to swallow, the music blasted out much louder than he was sure even Zoe realized, the surprise of it, and the sound of the childish, helium affected voice catching him off guard as he struggled not to inhale the liquid or spit it right back out. Choking it back and finally taking a gasp or two, he glanced sidelong to his hostess in more of a confused frustration. "What the hell is that?!"

Zoe's giggle fit finally broke into hysterical laughter, the kind where each laugh almost becomes silent it's so strong, enough to leave anyone with nasty stitches in their sides and desperate lungs. It was true, she didn't pay attention when she'd turned up the volume, not catching that it was all but on the edge of its maximum which was still enough to shake the windows and fill the house pretty well. That, and the funny little song she'd managed to come across in one of her rummages back when she had money and just didn't want to spend it on much. The fast dance beat to it was nice to listen to, but the voice of the singer, purposely remixed for effect, was so out of place it was hilarious. "That, my friend," she called, wiping the tears from her eyes and taking in a few deep breaths before falling into more giggles, "is a singing "Hamster"! He was kinda popular a long time ago. Did it scare you?"

Triton didn't care much for the teasing at all, instead he lay back against the mound of pillows and was content enough watching the shadows playing on the blinds. If she was insistent on acting like this the entire time he needed until he could get back onto his feet, or until they made him leave, his temporary heaven was going to turn more into hell. That last little event already made his ribs ache a bit, and he was in no mood for kids games. "I'm tired," he called softly, refusing to look at her, set in his own brooding. "If that's all right, Miss." Sure he knew what he was doing was rather childish in its own if he stopped to think about it enough, but he really didn't want to. If he saved all his energy, he could be out and moving by that night, if not the next morning.

Turning the music off, as she'd turned it down after it first spooked the both of them, Zoe sighed on her own. He was upset now, that was obvious, and part of her was sorry while the other part was indignant again. She'd spent almost a full week by herself, and with time to relax, she got so tired of being alone in the house with only the birds for company. Now with him, trying to open up and be good spirited about everything, after all, he'd already threatened her with a deadly weapon and now he was using her bed of her own good will. It was just a little harder to accept being alone when someone else was right there. She was tired of having no one to talk to.

"Sorry," she sighed, but stood and helped him as best as she could, managing to take the pillows and put the blanket back before it was evident he wanted to do it on his own and she pulled back to put the extra bedding and such away. "I'll be here for a few hours, just let me know if you need anything or any help, Triton." She refrained from calling him Mr. Bloom which would have been more proper especially with his attitude, but he'd already corrected her on it. There was no need to push the matter.

Triton settled himself back against the bed again, closing his eyes quietly and already settling into the silence, again giving a small nod to the girl's offer. She was trying to be helpful and nice, but it was just a bit too high spirited for him.

"I do have one favor to ask though," Zoe ventured, reaching over to her drawing desk and unveiling the gun he'd had from under a pile of paint tubes.

Triton opened an eye before watching her skeptically, eyes both trained now on the shining metal in her hand. Damn it, he'd forgotten that he'd left that behind. "I don't understand," were his cautious words, not sure how much she knew about firearms, or if they even had any hidden ones in the house or ammunition for them.

Zoe could see the surprise on his face as she handed the gun back to him, holding the barrel herself and offering him the grip. "I've seen it done. I want you to take that apart for me so I can get rid of it. And if it's empty, don't leave it laying around for your prisoner to figure it out."

She wore a sad smile, having carefully fiddled with it all morning and finally having removed the clip and thrown it in with the trash on the curb, the garbage men having already come to empty their bins.

Uncertain of her trust with him, especially now that he was slowly recovering, he debated a minute and realized that the gun was fairly useless now anyway before he began to dismantle it against his common sense. Piece by piece, he broke it down like one would to clean it, letting the pieces lay on the bed before he could hear her collect them. "You're sure," came the calm whispers, letting his voice rest as he closed his eyes again, "that you should be trusting me?"

"No," was Zoe's easy reply, pocketing the parts of the gun and taking the tray with both bowls in her hands. "But," she continued, turning to head for the door, "I've got trust in who people really are, and I can usually figure it out before they know themselves. It's part of my job. I'm just returning the favor. After all, you let me help and trusted that I wouldn't call the cops or anyone. You're still here, aren't you?"

The words were quiet and serious, but tranquil and easy flowing. Of course she was stating a lot of the obvious and unspoken, Triton knew that. But as he mulled over the words in his mind, listening to the door close to the room, her room that he was using, in their house of their own funds, of her own generosity, they were a bit more valuable now that they were pointed out. 'She's too observant for her own good. It'll get her in trouble if she keeps it up,' he decided, feeling drowsy all over again now that he was alone and after a short time, he slipped back into sleep.

The house was quiet as the afternoon drew on, slowly making it's way to dinner and the evening. Music was put to rest as the stereo slept on its shelf, Zoe having tried and tricked her friend's pets that it was night again and had gotten them to sleep in the dark room. The youth had kept quiet and to herself after the faintly strained lunch with her "guest", the food long since put away and the dishes cleaned.

Cleaning. Zoe was so tired of cleaning, but with a television that worked on three channels that came in whenever they wanted, a radio that would be too loud even on its softest level and probably disturb her "resting patient", and no new muse for her sketches, Zoe was lost in boredom. 'I don't even feel like going to work anymore,' she thought solemnly, wandering the house with soft steps, stocking feet padding almost carefully over the floor. 'But I'm slowly going insane sitting here. I can't call anyone, because unless it's necessary, we'll have to pay more for a phone bill we can't afford anyway as it is. I can't go anywhere and leave Triton here alone because if he needs something... it's too cold to go outside and do anything anyway.'

Growing restless again even as she tried to find something to preoccupy her, Zoe hit an idea with a small smile and moved to the back room just off of the kitchen, digging through the bags of clothes the girls had intended to donate to the good will. Zoe was a little under an average height, settling in at 5'4" even for being one of the taller ones of her family, but Andi was easily inches taller. Triton and her had to be nearly the same size. She knew exactly what she could do to pass the time as her mind ran wild, nit-picking for what she wanted and pushing down what she didn't want. Will might be able to donate some clothes to help temporarily, but Andi's boyfriend wasn't nearly as skinny. He was a bit more than stout, rather. Alterations were easy as long as she had something decent to work with anyway.

Taking up a perch on the couch in her nest of threads, needles and pins, assorted clothes and her trimming scissors, Zoe hummed almost silently to herself as if the sounds were timid of traveling far or being heard. For another few hours, the youth worked on her creations, passing the time without much other thought until the slam of car doors outside her door snapped her attention back.

Andi gave a small whining grunt as she hefted her bag up, snatching her purse and closing the back door to the car, not intent on getting anything else out of it. "I really don't want to unpack all this, I'm tired," she finally offered, taking the light kiss to her cheek from Will and beginning to trudge to the house.

"Then go sit down, I'll get it, sweetie," came the kind reply, Will reaching for the last of her things and offering to take what she was holding as well. He was easily concerned and caring for Andrea, even if she did have her moments. He had his too, and it often ended with lectures from the "Manners Bible" Andi was a little more strict about.

Zoe opened the door, offering the hesitant smile she honestly felt at catching her friend's gaze, knowing she wanted the explanation even now. "You guys made it, welcome home! We've gotta keep it quiet though, just for now, all right?" Still leaving the subject vague as she took the bag from Andi's hands, putting it by the hallway so it'd be out of the way and halfway to its destination, she heard the front door click shut and a form fall into the couch. "I suppose I should tell you what's up then, huh?"

Andi shot Zoe her normal look, asking without asking if she was that crazy all the time, or just at times, before stretching out on the couch between the piles of clothes. They'd known each other since they were in grade school and the friendship was just as strong as it had always been ever since. She also knew Esperanzo too well, and knew when she was well up to something or getting herself into more trouble than she could talk herself out of. The sad part was, she was usually pretty good at getting out of it. "Well, duh. You're slowly trashing the place and you're dragging me into your excuses again so I'm supposed to be dying in my own bed and if you get caught, we're both in trouble for it."

"I know I know," she offered, going to pick up the clothes and scraps she'd cut from or altered like a guilty child all too sorry for what they'd done, tossing them into the chair she was leaning against. "But I really couldn't just ignore him and let 'im die out there in the cold this morning."

"Him? What's "him"? If you brought back another stray, Zoe, we've gotta take it to a shelter or somewhere else. The landlord's gonna flip if he finds out!"

Biting her lower lip again as if to think of reasoning or an excuse, Zoe finally just offered out her hand with a sigh. "Lemme show you. He's asleep right now."

Still hesitant on what "he" was, Andi followed just behind in Zoe's steps, almost sure that it would be better for everyone if she didn't look inside the room, but halfway there, it was a little too late. When the door was opened and she managed to scoot inside past the younger of the two girls, Andi found herself looking at a young man bundled up in the blankets where Zoe slept, bruised and a little sick looking from what she could tell, but that was all that she could really tell for the moment.

Zoe clamped a hand tight over Andi's mouth at her long sharp inhale, it was usually a prep for her to start yelling or going off about something and she knew better. She also knew and expected the small bite she was given for it, but tugged the second girl from the room and closed the door before she let her go.

"THAT'S Him? Chica, do you even know that guy?! And why–...," but at the shushing movement from Zoe, quieted her voice a bit. "Why is he sleeping in your bed? Are you not telling me something?"

Trying to keep a calm approach about this, Zoe began, knowing Andi would rebel to every last bit of it. "Yes, that's him. Him is Triton Bloom." Andi cut her off before she could continue, though.

"How long have you known Triton? I've never even heard of him, and you're bringing strange guys into the house."

"Technically," Zoe tried to jest, "It's almost 3, and we ran across each other at 5:30 this morning..."

"You've GOT to be kidding me! Why?"

"How many times do you actually run across someone who can barely hold themselves up and bleeding all over the place that you ask for a full background check before you even ask their name, Andi? The guy needed help, I wasn't gonna let him die." Zoe crossed her arms in front of her, anticipating the questions to come and knowing that until Andi's reason found the same feeling Zoe got by instinct that she trusted in, she'd have to twist the truth a little.

"Well, I don't come by a ton of them, but if I did, I'd probably let a doctor do their job first instead of playing nurse at home. You said yourself he was bleeding all over!"

"Yeah," Zoe pushed, sighing a little as Will listened into the conversation from a little further down the hall, putting it all together for himself. "And I fixed it by myself and did my deed as a good person."

"Neither one of us is even certified in CPR anymore, Zoe, and you'd gamble with his life because you're pretty sure you can fix it? Where was your head? Why didn't you call an ambulance?"

There it was, and Zoe knew it'd be pointless to win her case if she even thought of mentioning that he pulled an unloaded gun on her which at the time, she didn't know was unloaded. Andi had her good reasoning to be upset about the situation and the reasons, but Zoe wasn't a child, Andi was her good friend but not the mother of the household, and Zoe had her reasoning too. She'd tried to help and respect the wishes Triton had made, having only small doubts that his life would have been in more trouble had he been at the hospital. She didn't want to be responsible for that. "He was obviously losing control and his body was shutting down from hypothermia, you didn't have to be a doctor to see that." 'Here we go,' she thought to herself, continuing on with her patchwork portions of the truth she was going to tell Andi and Will. "At that minute, I wasn't worried about anything but getting him inside and warm, and the storm messed up the signal with my phone so I couldn't get through."

Inwardly, she was a little frantic and hoped they bought the lie. The storm had messed things up and somehow brought him down across her path, and she couldn't call anyone after he'd taken the phone himself, so Zoe wasn't technically lying. It was for the better of everyone for the moment.

"And you didn't try afterwards?"

"I didn't think about it, trying to take care of him and make sure he was all right. It wasn't anything major, well, besides being out and as cold as he was, the cuts weren't horrible, he just couldn't get them tied off it looked like to quit bleeding."

"So tell me, Oh Smart One, if you trust him so much, how'd he get like that in the first place?"

Zoe took a deep breath to calm herself and collect her thoughts, it was always so hard to get Andi to believe what she needed to believe, just because each girl knew the other's habits and minds as well as they did their own. "He said he lost control trying to come in through town. His car went into a ditch and he managed to get out to make his way this close to own to try and find help."

Andi knew she was still missing too much of the circle to put it all together, even if everything seemed well and right, something was out of place and she knew it. "But you had time to call work? And instead of telling them this, you told them that I was sick today. And after a car accident, he should be in the hospital being treated for anything else that might be wrong that you can't see outwardly! The wreck's still gotta be reported."

'Damn it, why is it always so hard to argue anything with her?' Zoe thought quickly, but nothing came to mind before she crossed her arms over her chest taking a deep breath. "You're a real pain in the ass, you know that, Andi? You ask more questions than I do."

Andi gave a tired sigh and readjusted her glasses before eyeing the girl before her again. "I know, it's my job, Esperanzo. Now, are we gonna play the game all over again, or are you gonna tell me what happened?"

Zoe winced a little at her full first name, knowing better. She also knew payback sucked, as the roles were changed but the game was much the same when Andi had first tried to keep her relationship with Will secret from everyone. "Fine," she said, defeated. "Was going to work, found him walking towards town, tried to help, got him inside, tried to call an ambulance, he pulled a gun on me, I talked him into letting me help him enough, he forgot and dropped the gun, I got him patched up and into the bed, and I threw the gun away and made sure he didn't have any other weapons before I hid all sharp objects in the house besides the scissors I was using on the coffee table. That work?"

"You are so full of it," was the tired, skeptical response. She was sure she liked Zoe's lie about the accident better, but some of the parts did match up in both stories. Not very many. "I said I wanted the truth."

Zoe gave a small laugh, reaching into her pocket for a few pieces of the gun she hadn't found a disposal for. "It was." She held out the pieces of metal for inspection to both a surprised Andi and an even more amazed Will. "If you want, I can try the lying thing again, but I didn't want you to have a heart attack over it."

"So, let me get this straight," Andi tried again only after smacking Zoe in the arm for her comment. "HE'S the one that pulled a gun on you and YOU didn't call the cops on him? Now I know you're stupid..."

Zoe lightly pushed Andi back down the hall, hearing the stirring from inside her room as she'd come to realize their voices were getting a bit loud. "That's just it, he didn't want to use it. You had to be there to know the difference, but I think he was just doing it because he was scared."

"The gun's pointed at you, and that guy's the one that's scared?" she scoffed, letting Will go to check out the empty fridge, as it was obvious both of them were paranoid now with this new information on the stranger in Andi's house. She was also sure Will kept closer to the bedroom than the girls more out of his protective nature.

"Well, if you're half dead with a strange person and someone's out to take your life, you'd probably be scared of everything too. Look, during everything," Zoe started in Triton's defense, but she wasn't sure why, "he was just fine and all. He was the one begging me when I first tried to stop before he even reached for the gun. That's the only threat he's made the whole time and he's been up and responsive with me off and on since then."

"And you're too trusting for your own good," chided Andi, still not giving into the idea, not liking it one bit. "So you're gonna bet our lives on it?"

Zoe had been thinking about that all day before she settled on the floor, laying back and using her hands as a pillow for her head. "Yeah," she finally offered, staring at the ceiling fan as it waved lazily round and round. "Yeah I am. You had to have heard about how that military base was thrown into chaos, but no one ever said why. I'm pretty sure he broke out, and to get all those bruises, they arrested and took him in. That's the only reason I can come up with. Why or who he belongs to or who he is, other than Triton Bloom, I dunno. I don't think we really even should know. But if we take care of him, not only are we saving a life, but I'm sure if things start getting too complicated, he'll take care of it."

"Well, I'm sorry, but reality isn't just a bunch of guesses you can talk your way out of if you get in trouble again, Zoe," Andi finally admitted, still not giving very much, if any slack the girl's way. It was just too far fetched to put naive thoughts on. "And I'm not gonna risk it if he's in the same house, Zoe. I'll stay with Will for now."

Will half listened to the girls, mumbling a "that's fine" to Andi's comment as his attention stayed more on the quiet room down the hall with the closed door. He was just as unconvinced.

Pushing herself up into a sitting position, Zoe gave a small growl that she kept more to herself. She'd expected something like this, but she had hoped she'd have a little more help from her best friend than this. She'd prayed that she might have a little more faith in her roommate. "You know I wouldn't go putting us in danger like that, Andi."

"Well evidentially I don't if you go off planning something like this. And what if they come searching out here, door to door like they've done before, Zoe? What if he is who you think he is to an extent? It won't matter, you're helping a fugitive then, and you'll be in just as much trouble. How hard did you think about this?"

Zoe felt degraded enough after that morning, then her "lovely lunch", and now this mess. "If you're done preaching to me like a child– I've been thinking about this all day so much it's making me sick. I've been over the fifty million different outcomes that could happen for doing all this. But I still think I'm doing the right thing and you're making it more complicated than it has to be. He'll be here for a day or two then he'll be well enough to go on to wherever he's going. He's been trying all day but he knows like I do that his body can't take that right now. Hell, the guy can't even stand on his own yet." The cheery disposition was gone and Zoe cradled her head in her hands, mentally cursing the small chiming clock on the shelf telling that time was still moving on and that it was time for her to get ready again for work and go. Now she'd never be in a mood to deal with customers and by the end of the night, she was sure her tips would show for it.

"I just need someone to help him while I'm at work," came the tired voice, Zoe's drive almost all but gone now. "It's just to wake him at six for dinner and cold medicine I've already got set out, and then if I'm not home by eleven, for medication then too."

"You want me to?" came Andi's unhappy voice.

"I kinda do, and I don't even mind Will staying with you if it'd make you feel better." Pushing herself up and heading for the hall, she stopped again to lean on the wall, almost as if to rethink everything. "He trusted me enough to put his life in my hands, Andrea, I can't just go drop it or dump it off somewhere," was all but muffled before she fell back into her own mind again, heading to the bathroom to change and fix herself up again for work. Somehow, she had to psyche herself up and put herself in a cheery mood. She was already gonna hear it from her managers, and if she left now, she'd have to run to work again. Zoe wouldn't even bother asking Will for a ride, knowing Andi wouldn't stay in the house with Triton alone, and a part of her didn't blame her. Not at all. 'I just hope they're still here when I get back,' Zoe's mind whimpered, knowing that if Triton left, it was of his own will, but if he hadn't and the other two had... She trusted Andi, but they had their moments, and right now, it looked like another one of those times.


	6. Workin' for a living

(Disclaimer: All gundam characters are property of their creator, any interwoven plotline and unknown characters are similar based on my own muse and creation. From this point on, to avoid confusion, Trowa will also be refered ti as Triton.)

\6/

The whole idea still didn't sit right with Andi, not one little bit. She didn't even bother to touch her bag of clothes, just to go and sit with her boyfriend and tend to her spoiled birds that she hadn't seen in almost a week. They looked glad that she was back, but knew that Zoe didn't thrill too much in taking them from their cage to fly because they never wanted to cooperate for her when she tried to catch them and put them away again. Andi never had any problem with them. Actually, her and Zoe never had a problem like this before, nothing even remotely close.

"Really, what was that girl thinking?"

Will sat on the other side of her, resting his head on her shoulder and hugging her from behind with a heavier sigh. He too was surprised, even if he didn't know Esperanzo all that well. He knew that at least normally, she wouldn't do something to this much of an extreme.

"It beats me, but you're always asking that question. I don't think you're gonna get much further on it this time than any other time," he offered.

"Yes I will," Andi mumbled, resting her eyes and falling back against the safe arms that held her. "Because I know that this time, she wasn't really thinking much at all. I hate to say it, but she's really gonna get herself in deep trouble if we let her keep going with this."

A few playful chirps filled the air, ironic to the atmosphere they were in.

"You really gonna try and throw the guy out then? Or what are you suggesting, hun?"

"I don't know," was her defeated reply, hating the whole idea. Nothing sat right about it in her mind. "I really don't know."

Zoe pushed on through the night, trying as hard as she could to leave all her troubled thoughts in a bundle downstairs where she'd clocked in at, but it was so very hard not to let her mind wander and to be cheerful even when the grumpiest of people came by. Her smile wasn't fooling very many people, and because of it, Zoe's usually high tips were only coming out as half instead.

It was finally one of the assistant managers that pulled her aside when a lull in the business came, taking her to the privacy of an enclosed office. The only problem was Zoe and Linda never really saw eye to eye on a lot of things, so the youth knew that this conversation would be anything but pleasant.

"Yeah?" Was all Zoe managed, taking a seat and resting her sore legs, knowing that she wasn't any closer to getting new shoes and walking in the ones she had now were damaging her legs beyond even her normal bearable limits. All she wanted was for this to be short and sweet before going back to her job.

Linda, however, had a habit of wanting to pry and now that it was affecting the workplace, she had perfect reason to. "What's going on with you tonight, Zoe? You're not yourself. If it was that much this morning, why didn't you just call in tonight too?"

Zoe fought the urge to laugh and walk out of the office, taking a few breaths before putting on a practiced calmness.

"I can't afford it. I couldn't afford taking off this morning but someone had to take care of Andi," she lied, knowing that if Andrea was that much against her decisions, that when she got to work tomorrow night, she'd tell the managers flat out that she wasn't sick at all. But until then, Zoe played the charade off. "I'm just tired and stressed out is all. Dead season is killing everyone and I'm just having a little trouble skating by is all. Look, I'll be fine, I need to go check on my tables." She had to escape was more like it, but the try was futile with Linda.

"Sam's watching them for you, so it's okay. Maybe you should talk," she started.

Zoe set her jaw and stood, biting her tongue to keep from saying what she wanted to. "No it's not, because they're my tables, they expect me to be working for my tip, not someone else. Talking doesn't pay the bills like this, so I really need to go." And before Linda could call after her again, she left to head out to the main dining room, putting on the smile again and fighting even harder to make it convincing as her mind tried to drift away again. It was going to be a long night.

Triton startled a bit at the sound of a voice near him, and it took a minute to place what it was saying, and who it was, or rather, was not. That wasn't Zoe's tone, or even attitude. That, and this young woman was calling for a Mr. Bloom, as Zoe had tried to do.

Using caution, Triton opened his eyes, alert and a little apprehensive as they focused on a similar youth, taller and not nearly as tan in complexion, her dark brown hair almost black like Zoe's, but her's was straighter and she left it pulled back loosely at the top of her shoulders. Thin framed glasses perched just right over her eyes, but her movements suggested weariness and uncertainty. This must be Andi, or at least he hoped so. He couldn't hear Zoe anywhere and for the time, she was his only small safety net in this. "Y-yes?" he answered, voice still a little scratchy but there and not nearly as hoarse as it had been before.

Andi kept her distance, Will watching from just behind her with the food tray in hand, the hall light giving off the only massive light in the room. She'd turned on the art desk lamp, but the way it was posed over a work in progress, the reflection of the light filled the room rather than the actual direct light. "Hi, I'm Andi. Zoe said she'd told you we'd be here with you tonight." Andi wasn't shy so much as the girl was testing her limits and observing him, a little hesitant after Zoe's story of the real gun he'd had with him when he'd first come into the house.

Triton lifted himself into more of a sitting position again, leaning against the cool wall and giving a small shiver but he settled against it. So she was the roommate, and the taller guy behind her had to be Will. They didn't have much to any trust in him, he could see by the way they stood with a bit of tenseness in them, eager to keep their safe distance. 'I don't blame them, and I don't mind,' he thought lightly. It was no doubt unless he took a small grip on the reigns of this conversation, that they'd all stay at a stand still until Zoe came back. "Then she did go to work tonight," was all he offered, leaving the conversation general. "She said you'd be here if I needed anything and that she'd be back tonight."

"Yeah," Andi spoke after a moment or so of silence. Her friend had to be seeing something in this Triton guy that she was just oblivious and blind to somehow. Either way, she didn't like the calm, edgy vibes she was getting from him. "Well, if you're hungry, we brought you something to eat and the cold medicine she's been giving you. Did you need anything else?"

The tension in the room finally began to irritated him enough before he spoke quietly, regaining frame of mind to fall into his cool, blunt composure. "I'll be fine, thank you. But I am tired of being stared at and neither of you really want to be in the room with me, so I can take that tray and you can lock me away in here again like you really want to."

Will gave the new guy a little warning glare, mumbling to himself about rudeness and being ungrateful. At least his manners were down to refining the usage of "excuse me" or rather remembering it.

Andi however, wasn't early as polite as she could be, simply because she wasn't having to play nice for anyone she called boss. "Fine, we're just trying to help and do what Zoe asked so she didn't have to worry about babysitting you all night. I really don't know what the hell she saw so desperate to save in you, so far you've already pissed me off and it only took five minutes!"

Triton took the tray from its resting place on the ground, knowing that they'd be upset now, but if he didn't touch it, he'd surely never hear the end of it. Their opinion so far really didn't matter that much to him, not a one, Zoe included. "It was her choice," he ventured, "and I'll be gone by morning. And if it makes you feel any better, I'm sure our feelings are mutual, and your friend and her talking bother me anyway."

His sore body and never-ending exhaustion made him bitter, more so than his withdrawn, solitary state he was so used to. To add to it, his pestering cold made him short on patience and it was hard to ignore what he wanted to without it. So instead, he concentrated on working on his meal. His stomach was empty again and the feeling was unwelcome right now.

So very tempted, but refraining herself from reaching out to smack Triton, she turned on her heal before she made a mistake. The last thing she wanted to do was beat up the injured, even if her temper ran away with her at times. "Good, it'll make things easier. And she wouldn't try and cover up for it if she wasn't so stressed out, and she hasn't been until this whole incident, so I'd be careful if I were you, buddy."

Triton paid no attention to her words, at least not immediately until the door was pulled shut with more force than she could ever need. Oh he was doing a wonderful job so far, two of the three new strangers obviously hated him, and the third was upset with him and who knew what else. 'I knew it was too good to be true. I need to get out of here soon before I start to lose my sanity. If OZ or the Alliance doesn't find me soon and try to shoot me down, I'll be slaughtered in my sleep.'

Zoe's tired legs protested as she shifted, watching their guilty looking hostess lead two young men into the restaurant to sit at the freshly cleaned table. It was five minutes until they closed their doors and most everyone was gone or getting ready to leave. A new table meant that on average, whoever took the two guys would be here at least an hour later.

Like cattle to the slaughter, the servers all moved in back, grouping around each other with iffy looks about the new problem at hand. It had already been a long, hard night, and no one seemed to want anything to do with staying longer.

Ali gave a small whine as the doors closed, holding the menus tight to herself. "I'm sorry guys," was all the little hostess had to say. "I set them in your section, Tara."

"Does anyone else want 'em?" The older server piped up the minute she knew they were at one of her tables, a begging look crossing her face.

With a groan, Zoe moved to the doors. "If you do all the refills for my section, I'll take them, Tara." What was she gonna do now? If she had to stay too long, she knew Andi would get more than a little riled with her. But she needed the money badly, even if her body didn't really want to follow along with it. She could always find a ride home with the bartender for the night.

"Deal!" Rejoiced the happy server, the others all taking a sigh of relief that they weren't forced into it. It really wasn't all that appealing of a choice.

Quatre's eyes took in the dining hall, at peace with the low lighting, the carved wooden framework, the mellowed, earthy feel of the room. Even in the dark, he could see the moon sparkle on the forest in the distance, shining on the open fields of snow through the huge walled window. The instrumental ambience that played in the distance relaxed him. "Good choice, Duo, you really surprise me sometimes."

Laughing a bit himself, the young American slid back into his chair, watching his friend from across the light colored wooden table. "Yeah, I guess it's a habit. I didn't even know there was someplace like this around here. Well, not until that old lady told us," he smirked, a little surprised at the heavy menu in his hands. The cover for both front and back were cut wood slabs, carved into with the emblem of the hotel and tied together on leather cut strips. The pages of the inside were more like fine parchment, a little more than what he was used to, to tell the truth.

Quatre's laughter was tired, but it was real while he eyed his friend. "I suppose, and it is kinda nice just to relax–..." he trailed on, but bit back another small set of laughter as his comrade shifted and weighed the unique menu in his hands. That, and their waitress was coming.

Zoe put on her smile yet again, holding the pitcher of water close but finally felt the smile a bit at watching the two young men. They too looked her age, and they seemed pretty easy going, and cute to add to it. And in teasing, she joked as she came from behind the long-haired boy, reaching out to take up his water goblet and fill it. "Be careful, you can knock someone out with one of those."

Nearly jumping from his seat, Duo laughed a bit and put the menu down carefully, and gave their new server a once over. She wasn't nearly as old as he expected for a place like this, as upper class as it seemed to pass itself off as, her long brown hair pulled back except for a few strands that hung at the sides of her face. She was tanned lightly, Indian maybe, or something else; her uniform neat but not very comfy looking. "You're not lying. I hope you guys don't give these out to kids too," he returned, grateful for her attitude, even if he knew they were in so very close to closing time, but nothing else was open and he wasn't sure he could stand being caged in the boarding house for too much longer.

Filling the young blonde's glass, she set the pitcher behind her on an empty table and just as casually she continued, "Well if a big kid's menu is too much pressure for you, I can go get you the paper ones and a few crayons to keep you busy."

Quatre's snickering grew a little louder, a little fuller with the banter between the two. "I think she's got your number on this one, Duo. You'd better give up."

A grumble was all he gave to the both of them, laying his chin on his palm, his elbow propped up on the table. "That's a great first impression, Miss. I'll admit, it's hard to find feisty people this time of night."

"You'll have to forgive my friend," Quatre teased, searching a bit through the menu. "This is as behaved as he gets. Sometimes it's worse."

"Now, come on Quatre, what's that supposed to mean?"

Zoe took her cue and pulled up a chair from the table beside them, taking a seat as they seemed fun and relaxed, like the type of people that wouldn't mind the casualness of her actions. "I think I agree with Quatre," she joked, picking his name out of the conversation. "You do seem like a handful."

Duo only scowled at the two in a pout. "Well, so do you, Miss..."

"Zoe," she added, smirking and giving the still nameless boy a wink. "And I am, that's why they don't fire me, because I'd make more trouble unsupervised than I do here."

"I really like you, you know that?"

"So then does my "Secret Admirer" have a name?"

Quatre snickered a bit off and on, enjoying the conversation more. She was good at her job, taking Duo's playful cue and settling herself in with them as if they'd all known each other their whole lives.

"Maxwell, Duo Maxwell," he replied, trying to be suave before smirking at a grumble from his stomach.

"Don't I get roses or something?" At the odd look her way, Zoe again smiled and took to her feet again, trying to hide the wince she felt and leaning against the table. "Well, since we've been talking, I'm sure you guys haven't done a ton of looking, so I'll give you some time to think. We did have a buffet special, but I'm sorry to say the chefs took that down about an hour ago. Was there anything else I could get for you to drink while you're looking, Duo? Quatre?"

Both of the boys shook off the offer, content with their waters as Zoe made her way to the back to give them some time to think and calm down the tired cooks who were anxious to get the meals made, out of the way, and go home.

After a few minutes of cleaning in back to pass the time, the young woman made her way back out again, her pace slowed as she felt the uncertainty of her knees, they'd almost given out on her already in back. "Well guys," she called as she came up to the table, fiddling with one of her pens to keep herself occupied. "Did you have any questions about anything for me or did you still need some more time?"

"Actually, we're ready," was the polite reply, Quatre pushing his own menu to the end of the table so she could grab it as he began.

Duo himself toned everything down, settling a bit even after the order was put in and Zoe had again given them their space and privacy. "Next time," was the smirking comment, Duo's first bite of the thick steak cut surprising him pleasantly. The taste was to fantastic, it was tender, and all more than enough for him. Maybe he should have skipped the offered salad. "We're gonna have to try and drag those other two out of if we make it back before we leave town. This place is pretty cool for being in the middle of a smaller city like this."

Quatre gave a small nod as he had time to slowly come to himself, still upset a bit at all the events that had come to pass during, and since their gathering. He still tried not to let it affect him. Besides, the broiled salmon with the seafood sauce was a horrible tease in flavor. "Definitely," he called between bites, spreading the linen napkin a little further over his lap, the sauce not overly thick and there was plenty of it. He didn't want to make a mess.

Zoe kept just a bit more to herself, again making a round to fill their glasses as she offered another smile. "I just love that trick. Good behavior and happiness for guys looks like it's straight through your stomach."

Duo spared a grin before swallowing, reaching for his glass. "So are all the simple pleasures of life! You know, you can take a seat if you want, we're fine. Besides, sorry to say, but you look dead on your feet, Zoe, and we won't bother you all night."

"We know you wanna go home," Quatre sympathized, picking a bit more at his food but finding he liked the idea of not having to try. A light pull of his fork and the bold flavored fish came even easier than it normally did. "But this place is really nice and we're just passing through on a visit."

"It's okay," Zoe assured, taking the suggested seat with a smile. "I know what it's like on both sides of the table, so to say. It's just been a little hectic, but nothing too much." 'Yeah, sure,' Zoe thought in the back of her mind. Then, to help put the boys at ease, she continued. "Besides, if you hurry through dinner, you'll miss it and hurt yourself before you get to desert."

"Dessert?" Choked out the American, already starting to feel full and only halfway through his dish. "You can't be serious."

"100 Honest to goodness."

"Has anyone ever made it to dessert?" Quatre wondered aloud.

"Quite often. Of course, most of it goes home in a box, but that's besides the point."

Duo thought for a long moment or two and glanced again up at Quatre. Dessert tonight? ALL of it would have to go in a box. Reaching to his side and grabbing the unused fork at the empty chair next to him, he slid it towards Zoe, handle first. "I suppose if we're gonna, buddy," he started, scooping up the mashed potatoes. "She'd better start helping us now and call for backup."

Quatre added to the girl's small chuckle with one of his own. "I think you're onto something, Duo. That's a pretty good point."

Zoe's steps were heavy and trudging, her shoes wet from having to trudge through the half mopped up mess of the kitchen, and now, she was pushing on through the snow. The sidewalks weren't any better, covered in sheets of ice, but no other option, the young woman continued on her way home at a slow walk, her keys wrapped protectively in her hand and tucked out of sight. She'd picked up a few things on self-defense and fighting from her older brother, well, at least the most troublesome of the three, as she kept in the direction of home. The bartender had too many people still sitting at his bar so it was evident that he wouldn't be closing early. She wasn't going to wait another hour for a ride, and the hotel offered her a room for free but that too was out of the question. Especially with Triton still at the house and having told Andi and Will that she'd be there that night to let them go and rest at Will's apartment further in town. Both girls had class in the morning, and it was usually Zoe's own fault to lose sleep on her own, but to add that to everything else for Andi was just ridiculous.

"It's almost 12:30," she managed through chattering teeth, hunching down further in her hooded sweatshirt and trying to make her hurting legs move faster. "And I'm still out here instead of at home, with no decent money, with no car, and still with no good way to settle everything down and out. Perfect, just perfect."

She was grateful for the night being as quiet as it was, the drunks all at home or at least still hoarding in the local bars. No one wanted to be outside in the cold, especially not at night. It was partially in her favor.

The wind was strong in the night, bitter and cutting. 'I wonder if he really came from all the way out at the base through a night like this,' she pondered, something to keep her mind preoccupied. 'At least, if my "half baked guessing game" reason is right.'

Then she wondered how well Andi had taken to a conscious version of Triton. 'He probably didn't say anything again,' she mused, trying to play the scene as she imagined it in her mind. 'A nod or two and she probably went out to pass out. If I'm lucky, Will got along with him...'

A light glowing in a familiar window settled her a little and her steps picked up their pace a bit more, glad that at least if someone was up and in the living room, then someone had stayed with her injured charge and there shouldn't be anything to worry about. Right?

Once at the door, Zoe's hands fumbled with the keys to find her house key instead of keeping the most jagged keys between her knuckles if she'd ever had need to use them. Almost there!

Andi looked up from her math book, peeking a bit down the hall towards the front door as Will had fallen asleep from the long drive and the day on the second hand love seat on the other side of the room. She heard the jingle of keys and sighed, returning to her assignment before she heard a heavy thump and a few choice curses. "What'd you do?"

Zoe clung to the wall, her other hand cradling her banged up shin that was already bruising up. "I found the step," was all she said, trying to straighten the leg. She'd tried to head into the house and her legs let her down halfway through it, dropping her on the edge of the metal edging of the top step at the doorway. "And it's not moving anywhere, but I think my bones did."

Andi didn't think too much of it, knowing her friend was accident prone and far from graceful and accidents like that happened all the time. "Well then," she chided, "be more careful. Besides, the utility bill's due tomorrow. Do you have your half this time?"

Zoe pulled off the soggy shoes, wincing at the pressure on her new "battle scar". If she sat down now, she wouldn't move until morning. Rather, later that morning, she had to remind herself that it was already after midnight. "Yeah," came quietly after a moment's thought. "I can take care of it after lunch hour, since I don't have to work. Speaking of work," she tried to make the conversation casual.

"He's fine, I don't like him, and he's more stubborn than you are. Congratulates, you make a perfect pair." The sarcasm was thick enough to drown its listeners, Andi being blunt and outright.

"Really? How'd he make you mad?" Again, Zoe's curiosity ran away with her.

"He's annoying and rude."

"So's Will more than half the time."

"No, Will's annoying and rude in a gross way. That guy's just rude. Guess what he was saying."

Zoe gave a tired chuckle, not in the mood to play peacemaker tonight and knowing it wasn't hard to make Andrea mad, but it was hard to make up for it. "I really am not gonna ask if he wasn't threatening you. Be glad he was talking, I was trying all morning and hardly got anything!"

A growl came from the elder girl's lips, her book closing in her lap as she began to put her things back into the bag. She'd told the second that she was not going to stay there with their uncertain guest. And she'd make good on her words, often for pride's sake, but this was different. "He was badmouthing you too, Zoe."

"Him too, huh?" Zoe glanced a moment at the fridge before just reaching into the cupboard for a glass, for as much as she was covered in it, a glass of water sounded good for right now. "Everyone usually does, Andi, I'm not worried. If I cared, I'd have been a wreck and worse a long time ago." She wasn't accusing or even teasing. She was just tired. "I'll be okay, I guess I'll see you in class tomorrow then?"

Andi grabbed her things, not liking the idea but if Zoe wasn't going to come with, then that was her own choice. She'd already come to decide that she wasn't going to send the guy somewhere else and more suitable. "Yeah, I suppose. Just be careful, all right?"

The Latin youth gave off a small wave before heading down the hall, struggling on her tip-toes to keep herself from walking on the soggy hems of her black pants that were just a little too long without her shoes on. Besides that, they were cold and uncomfortable.

She never really bothered with the light but was a little surprised at the glow from under her bedroom door, knocking lightly as she heard both her roommate and friend leave the house and head for the car. "Triton?"

The knock pulled Triton's mind from he pages of the book, oddly interested in the suspense novel that had been sitting atop his hostess's dresser, and in one of his trails to take care of himself at least to and from the restroom, he had picked it up out of curiosity and boredom with all intention to put it back. He didn't think he'd get so carried away with it. The voice calling "his" name was placed and familiar as he lowered the book to his lap, knowing returning it now as if nothing had happened would be pointless. "It's fine," he assured, his voice only a little scratchy now after resting it all day.

Zoe opened the door and left it open, letting herself in to catch sight of the boy at ease behind the covers. "Well, you all survived the night, that's good for something isn't it?" The smile yet again wasn't returned as she stripped the jacket from her shoulders, putting it over her chair to the desk, reaching into the dresser for something else to wear. She hated the feeling of wet clothes. "I've got another book mark on the shelf over here if you want," she continued, trying to be civil and quiet at his disapproving look to her tease.

"It caught my interest for a minute," he tried to justify himself, turning his eyes back to the book in his lap.

"It's okay. You're welcome to them, that's what they're there for," came with less life to it and was quieter than before. "Andi's a bit protective, but she's a really good person, you know."

The words just came from her, trying to justify her best friend much like she had for Triton earlier that day. She was just sick of arguing right now. "It's sometimes harder for her to accept things. I'd just appreciate it if you could return the favor and be polite with her if I can get the same thing from her. It doesn't bother me what you think or want to say about me..."

"So I heard," was his quiet response. Triton had actually heard most of the entire conversation and he was sure that the second girl had no intention of hiding it to be polite. "I'm grateful, Zoe, but you won't have to trouble yourself over all those ideas because I won't be here for too much longer. I had no intention of even staying this long."

Zoe slipped and maneuvered a new shirt on under her dress blouse, setting it in place before stripping the blouse from her shoulders and tossing it in a laundry basket before she straightened the tank top. She'd change into her comfy shorts in the bathroom. "You know, you keep saying that," she pointed out, taking her hair out of the ponytail and separating it, drawing one side over her shoulder to start braiding it. "And I'm sure you meant it to start off with, but now that idea's completely bogus and you know that too."

His attention was grabbed and held at that, Triton's green eyes flashing almost as if in challenge but resting on Zoe's form as she took a seat at the tall chair by her art desk. "And you're too sure of yourself with no real proof of that, Zoe. What's your reasoning this time, if you'd enlighten me?" In the silence that passed as the girl gathered and ordered her thoughts, he noticed how she was still nearly as quiet as she had been when she'd left the room after lunch. Her mood had changed drastically, and far from the chipper one, her sad, tired, melancholy outlook seemed to match her a little easier, but it still didn't sit quite right with her, or with him. How many masks did SHE wear? He had his own, but it seemed she had more of a variety of them than there were stars in the sky.

Zoe hesitated a minute, tugging out a tangle in her long hair and closing her tired eyes, her hands moving easily by natural feel. "Well, if you were really that intent, as you can get up and about now to some degree, you would have already tried leaving. Neither Andi or Will would have stopped you, that should have been obvious. You've probably also noticed or heard about the patrols roaming the streets since the upset at the Galileo base, and from the hints this morning, that would put you right back into your mess. Then to top it off, for as many times as you've been awake, you haven't tried even once to get a hold of anyone else to help you, and I'm sure if you had somewhere to go besides here for now, you would have made arrangements or tried getting there instead of stopping with me this morning. Oh, and you're not gonna get very far without freezing to death, especially if you go out in those clothes, and I haven't had a chance to restitch those jeans after I had to cut them open since you were kind of out of it this morning. I don't think I'm missing anything," she puzzled, having finished the one side and now working on finishing the second braid.

Triton bit his own tongue and listened, giving a soft shake of the head. How did she have enough time to worry over his little quirks when they hardly knew anything about each other and were still fairly strange to each other? His coming had to have disrupted their lives enough by what he caught, and she could still come to her conclusions? "I'll admit," he started slowly, curious as she lifted the hem of her pant leg a bit and folded it back, revealing a small blood trail and a swollen, bruised area square over the bone of her shin. She didn't complain once as she used a tissue to clean it up. "That is almost frighteningly accurate. Why bother with something that's not your's to worry about then?"

Zoe only looked up a little to offer a small smile, even if it was empty and she felt like passing out, she knew it wasn't going to happen. Sleep never came that easy. "Because it is the moment you said please."

Please? What was she talking about? She'd managed to throw Triton's mind off a little from the conversation. What was even more startling was that she was figuring things out slowly but surely, and as vague as he'd been and more than half the time, unconscious or in silence, she seemed to know more about him than he knew about her. 'That's the biggest problem,' Triton decided on. 'Because she'll talk easily, she'll talk about anything, and I still don't know anything about her in return.' How was he supposed to stay free of capture and take care of himself if he didn't even know the intentions of those he was in care of?

"When I was trying to help you this morning. Well, you said it when you asked me not to call and tell anyone, but you asked before that. Not out loud, but the look on your face before I brought you inside." The tired young woman made her way for the door, stepping around the corner out of sight before beginning to change. "You're just really easy to read, even if you don't try. Kinda like earlier when I'm sure you were hoping I'd just get out of the room and shut up."

"I didn't even," Triton began, a little defensive at her putting words into his mouth, so to say, but a weak laugh cut him off.

"You wanted to. It's fine, just say it next time. Everyone else does. I have a habit of talking, that's just me. And so is trying to help someone who needs it."

Triton gave a small sigh, surprised at himself for getting riled as he was, first with Andi and her boyfriend, now with Zoe yet again. Why? He knew they couldn't just be that irritating to his natural personality. Why were they getting to him? He listened to the words echo in the hall as his company moved off into another room, half expecting it as he returned to the book half open on his lap. Well, until something else was dropped onto his legs, Zoe's steps having snuck up on him and into the room. She'd changed out her own long pants for worn out, cut off jean shorts. He noticed the faded farmer's tan just above the top of her short cut socks. She had to be active outdoors during warmer weather and not with just minor house plants, he picked out, as if to somehow "even the odds" between the two. That fact still bothered him.

Similar was the set of lounge pants, cut long and hemmed up at the bottoms, the black mesh material layered over a thick, white cotton base and there was a homemade tie to the front of them since there was no place for a belt. The waist line was a little big, until he realized that they were not only recycled clothes, but originally formed to fit women.

"What's this for? And where did it come from, per say?"

Zoe had tucked the folded, homemade clothes for the boy off to the side of the bed, taking a comforter out of the closet and spread it over the floor for her to lay on. Sometimes it was nicer to stretch out comfortably and sketch rather than sit up proper somewhere else. "Those? Oh, well, we really didn't have anything for YOU to wear, especially if I was going to be tending to you and trying to patch up what I ruined to put it nicely. Sewing works better if you aren't wearing the clothes at the same time as I'm working, Triton. We had some old clothes I altered and changed so they look like any guy's clothes and would be if you cut the tags off of those, but I had to get ready for work before I could. They should fit pretty decently, if you want to try them on. Then I should probably look over those wounds to make sure everything's settling fine and since the bleeding's stopped, it might work better if you had clean bandages on them."

For a moment, Triton thought he almost felt a faint blush but slid the book off to the side, eyeing the offered "temporary clothes" uncertainly. He wasn't picky and spoiled as most people in society seemed to finally become, he was just a bit worried. It made sense, it was just a little unnatural for him. "I suppose it's all right," he spoke, wording his reply loosely.

And now that he was thinking about it, he had been wanting fresh clothes that morning in his journey through the snow storm, the bloodied and stiff jeans uncomfortable. With a final thought, he began to push himself up as he'd worked out earlier, keeping the weight off of his tender ankle and balancing until he drew himself up in full. To keep the ankle from getting too stiff, he tested it lightly on the floor, balancing a little weight on it but made his way from the room, knowing the young lady was watching him in approval as he limped to the bathroom to change. This would be interesting.

It wasn't too much later as between his sitting, then leaning positions that he heard again the light knock on the door. He moved tiredly from the way of the door and took a seat in the bathroom again, wearing himself out of his last bursts of energy pretty quickly. It would take some getting used to.

"All right," he called back to Zoe, easily feeling a bit more comfortable with the change now.

Zoe stepped inside the door quietly, looking over him quickly before smiling a bit. "They do fit. Good. If they didn't, I was gonna be a bit upset letting out the custom waist lines on the other pairs of jeans and pants. Hand stitching through some of those was just a terror."

Again, she pulled the little first aid kit out, knowing for as full as it had been packed before, it wasn't bottomless. This time, she also pulled out two knee braces from the overhead cabinet as well, laying those on the sink before she sat down on the edge of the tub. Kneeling was not an option right now. "I just know I'm jinxing it," she teased, helping him move the shirt up and off of the one arm, letting it rest over his broad shoulder.

Triton kept his eyes down and away from her work, wondering only for a minute about the braces before he noticed how stiffly she had moved and how her steps had been a bit questionable when she crossed the few paces in to his side. They were for her, he didn't have to worry about any other oddity. "What would that be?" he kept his voice calm and quiet, coming to the conclusion he could ask her most anything and always get an answer.

"Well," she pulled back the gauze around the young man's side wound, cleaning it carefully with the alcohol pads, pausing to blow softly over it at his wince when the alcohol was a little too close to the wound. "Even if it's still just short and sweet with your part, Triton, it's kinda nice to have a conversation with you."

It took the youth a minute to realize most of his easy gestures were now turning into words with her, green eyes watching over her movements now as she re-wrapped his side and finished it off in a snug tie off. It was just easy to talk to her, like Quatre, Triton mused. Here he'd been irritated by her constant talking, but even when she was, she was always listening, waiting for him to feel unthreatened and relax into the life he'd stumbled right into. And almost out of a shy realization, he kept quiet, focusing instead on his own thoughts.

Offering a sad smile, Zoe moved to his shoulder, only lightly pulling at the corner pieces of tape on both the front and back, just making sure the stitches that were left were holding tight and without trouble. "I knew it. I went and upset the words right out of you." With a sigh, she lingered a minute, then decided to help him back on with the shirt that was already half off. "It could be worse, you could be arguing with Andrea again, or like I was earlier. But that's just us."

The young woman took her seat again, reaching over with a sort of tired, old groan from her as she checked the bandaging over his leg, careful of where she shifted. "You know, for all the trouble this morning for all of this, I'm very curious as to what you would have had to do to get that scar on you back." She'd noticed the long stretch of scarring down the middle of his back, long since healed and only uncomfortable looking to think what had to have torn into him enough to leave something that good size.

Triton was careful again to choose his words and actions, having completely forgotten about his other scars. 'I haven't even thought of that since Catherin pointed it out. I'm surprised she didn't notice it earlier.'

"I don't know. I've had it for as long as I can remember," but his tone was distinctive that he did not want to talk any more about it even if he had known.

So Zoe took the hint, finishing and straightening up with a small dizzy spell, letting it pass before reaching for the braces and pulling them on carefully, strapping them into place before she even stood. The extra support from them was welcome. "That's all right, my short term memory only really ever picks up on small, trivial things. My long term memory is wonderful, but until short term turns into long term, it's lost in the twilight zone."

Offering out a hand to help him up, Zoe braced herself while Triton pulled himself up again. "That's all right, if you thought I have a bad habit of talking, you would really have had fun with my last table tonight. Two guys, the one was extra talkative and tried to play a battle of wits the whole night, and the other, he was quieter but I think he laughed more than enough for the two of them."

With a glance at the clock on the sink corner, he only half listened, feeling tired all over again as he worked on getting back to the room on his own, Zoe following as if he might need the extra support.

"Crap, I knew their names earlier. I hate having my mother's memory," Zoe went on, not noticing, or rather not really caring much that again, she seemed to be talking to herself as she tried to recall the names for her own sanity's sake now. "There was a Maxwell, and the blonde guy. Shoot, what was it...?"

Maxwell. That name hit his own curiosity and brought him to attention, but Maxwell was a popular name, and it could belong as a first name to the guy she was describing. Blonde guy, quieter. The description was still to vague, even if he wanted to believe it was Quatre. But he, Duo, Wufei, and Heero were supposed to have been in space days ago! By his guessing of what he could gather for himself, they had taken separate paths and he'd been taken into custody by OZ almost a week or so ago. It had been hard to tell before when they left him in the cell for endless hours that all ran into each other without any real meaning.

"They were near our age, if I guessed right, but they said they were just visiting. Oh well," she trailed on, offering herself as a support again to Triton when he helped himself down onto the lowered bed, at least, before she managed to lay down and stretch out on the blanket she'd laid out.

Triton's mind again jumped to life as he thought it over, the clues were fitting but they were still too vague to count on. He'd have to try and help her memory in a casual, "uninterested" way later. If they were still here, he had to get to them. That, and figure out what the hold up was. If they didn't keep going, the war wasn't ever going to end itself, eat least, not without endless rivers of blood and bodies. His thoughts startled and he almost felt himself jump even laying where he was at Zoe's voice.

"Triton?" She tried again, a bit louder. The look of momentary panic concerned her. "Are you okay? Maybe I shouldn't go to class..."

"No," he lied, settling himself and focusing. If his comrades were here, he had to find them quickly. That was all there was to it, his thoughts and hopes of being "dead" to this war had no reason to live anymore. There was no excuse for him now.

Zoe let the young man keep to his own silence, almost sure that he wanted the subject dropped before she closed her own eyes, having turned off the main light and left on a reading lamp she moved closer to the bed for the youth. Sleep was finally calling her name as the clock ticked closer to 1:30, still early for Zoe to sleep but after the long day before, it was almost expected.

"Can I go with you?"

Rousing herself enough to listen from her dreamy feeling, Zoe opened an eye to watch the more lively, deep green eyes watching her. "Hmph?"

"Can I go with you?" Triton repeated, knowing he couldn't stay hidden away in this house if he was going to find them, and being about and hidden in a crowd from the soldiers was his only shot at gathering fast information. Even if they were careful, someone had to have seen at least one of the guys if they were really here. "Go to class, as a guest, instead of staying here alone?"

Zoe only offered a yawn at first, thinking over his request. He'd been so intent on leaving, and finally admitted unconsciously just then that he would end up staying to gain his strength back. But now he wanted to follow her around at school? That was different. For what thought? What was going through his guarded mind? With a groan and a shift to use her arm as a pillow, Zoe curled up a little against the braces, shivering once or twice. "If I ask why, you're not gonna answer, I know that much," she mumbled, the words almost slurred and her eyes closed. "Well, I have to be up at six then, so it means we've got 4 ½ hours if you pass out this minute. You'll need the sleep..."

Triton settled even as his mind didn't wish to, easing back to let his body lay at rest again. Good. It would be a start for him, and she wasn't going to push the matter. That was well and fine with him.

Zoe drifted back into sleep again, and again, was startled quietly back out of it as she opened her eyes. She hadn't even paid attention to the sound of Triton's movements, but felt one of the heated blankets laid over her as best as the young man could make it, and she just curled it around her regardless. With a smile, she took the offered, extra pillow and pushed her sketch notebook off her comforter bed, out in no time in a welcome rest.


	7. being

Disclaimer: I do not own the Gundam Pilots or anything affiliated with them. *wish I did* I do own the plot, Nikki Marie Hernandez, her brother, and anything else that doesn't look familiar. Here are some words that will appear later in the story. Any new words will be added as the story progresses. Sorry this took so long to upload, school life, and millions of other stories going at the same time have kinda hurt me in a sense of having time. I haven't had much. Well, here's the new chapter and hope you like it, I'll try and get the next one up right away.  
  
Spanish words and their meaning: mio: Son hermano: Brother chico: male  
  
~*~ Chapter 7 ~*~ Interesting Moments  
  
Jumping from the car and pulling the strap of her book bag over her shoulder, Nikki watched as Trowa hopped out of Derrick's car behind her. They'd gotten a ride to school, something rare but the older sibling had quickly found the time in his very short sleeping pattern and free time. Trowa was surprisingly, for all he'd suffered, almost done healing. His arm was put in a home made sling, his abdomen and upper torso healing of their bruises yet the sickly yellows and greens remained as the skin itself healed, the wound in his upper leg hardly noticeable any longer. He was well enough to be out and travel about on his own. Surprisingly, the only illness he dealt with was a bad cold, nothing more. Giggling softly and stepping back on the salt-covered sidewalk, the young woman watched him struggle with his books as she waved to her elder brother, the older man leaving them. Her own wrists were still sore, but the bruises were gone, that she was grateful of. Trying to grab his books and keep his jacket on fairly decently, Trowa only caught Nikki's laughter before losing the books in his arms to the icy ground. Kneeling, he only took in a deep breath and tried not to grow too frustrated as the youth tried to somehow get the four books back into his arms. The other four boys had to stop by the apartment so they were to meet them at the school. Intrigued and looking for any excuse not to return to the war, Trowa had enrolled at Eagle Crest. Bending, Nikki took the books and piled them on her own. "Here, let me help you." Giggling again, she stood, books in hand and staring upon the disgruntled and slightly irritated youth before her. Sighing, the young man stood. "I can take them, I'm not completely helpless. Nikki, come on...." Reaching for them, he watched her rebel with a smile and only gave up. Taking a stubborn step back, she laughed and cut him short. "I've got them Trowa, get pampered while you can." A coy grin crossing her lips, she laughed in triumph at his defeated sigh and didn't bother with the looks she was getting from spectators. "Fine.." he called back softly, shivering slightly and pulling the jacket tighter over his shoulders. Peering through his steamy breath as it rose before his eyes, he turned again to the student parking lot and caught sight of the car his friends were "borrowing" for the time. With a smirk, he spoke. "Took them long enough.." Trembling in the cold, Nikki shifted her weight from foot to foot. Her teeth were chattering and all she wanted to do was go back inside the school, her Mexican background allowed her to tolerate heat easily but the cold was another thing. Knowing how things also worked against her, the youth realized that the other four boys would probably take their time in walking to the high school building, taking a leisurely pace. They'd better not or she'd shoot them herself, she was freezing! "Uh, do they always take this long mio?" "Only if it's not life or death..." Sighing and crouching, Trowa sat on his heels. He had to watch what he said around her, with this girl it was easier to just let things slip. She'd already expressed her extreme disgust for soldiers. *Flashback* "Rgh... does this war just not end?" Shutting off the television in disgust, Nikki turned her eyes and forgot about the battle she was watching, looking over her shoulder to the half awake youth laying covered and tiredly on the couch behind her. She'd been sitting on the floor and conversing with him while he rested yet kept entertained enough. "It'll end soon, time rewards all... though I pity the soldiers." His words were tired as he was half asleep, yet the youth watched what he'd said. The others weren't there to warn him, yet he spoke as if he had no hand in the war. The other four had gone off to fulfill a mission while he rested, the war waited for now man. "I don't..." she spat back with venom. "Why?" "Why should I pity them? If they had brains, they'd all stop fighting and not give the crappy answer, "Well, I was ordered to." Why? Because you're ordered to do something doesn't mean that you have to do it.. you've got a will of your own... rgh, I curse them all." Hatred burned within her soul, in its deepest depths as she kept her voice low and with a sharp edge. "It's not as easy as it looks.. if you think about it." He added hastily. "There are those that want to fight and those that have to fight to keep the ones they care about safe from the horrors of war. Don't you even pity them?" Now he was taking the slight offensive, he knew first hand what they were up against, the pain and suffering and terror of the war. Shaking her head, she glared back at him in contempt. "No, for if they were suffering so, there would still be so many more that could easily stop this war without the fighting, but they might kill the only brain cells they have left if they actually thought of that option. Even the ones that call themselves Gundam Pilots are pathetic sell-outs who try and glorify war and switch loyalties so often that they can't even be trusted with words, let alone actions.." Getting up, the youth walked towards the front door and let it open partially, the house was getting stuffy. Sighing, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Watching her, Trowa suppressed his defensive side and watched her, something wasn't right about how she'd answered. Everything she'd said about them was her point of view but he sure as hell knew it was wrong. Yet, he didn't retaliate or retort for he couldn't truthfully without giving himself away. She didn't understand, they *had* to fight, it was their only way of stopping all the others that prolonged the ghastly war. Trying to sit up and releasing a soft hiss as pain shot through his torso, he laid back down where he was before really realizing that she'd turned back to him with a sympathetic look and a kindly smile. Something in her eyes told him there was a great justification for the way she thought, for pain resided in her hazel depths too, masked but still there. Closing the door and laughing softly, the youth returned to his side and gently replaced the covers. "I know, major mood swing... let me have them." Winking, she saw the perplexity in his features and couldn't help but giggle. With a sigh, she still saw a slight defensiveness in him and began to explain. "This war didn't really bother me or hit me until I saw what it did. It was a big get together, only about a year ago or so, the entire of the family had gathered at our home for a big celebration, any and all relatives and it was a big family, no doubt.." Laughing softly, that dropped, sitting by his side on the couch and laying her head on the empty space on the cushion, she continued. "It wasn't that long ago... A battle started in our home town.. on the outskirts but the stray fire caught the homes aflame. My home was one of the first destroyed, we ran to a far distance. The Alliance seemed to have found the Gundam Pilots or something and they fought and then OZ came along and there was a large battle. The battle of Bethel Town was the first one I really saw, when I really knew the war.... we went back and barely found anything left of ours... maybe a torn and burnt picture here or there... they were all gone.." Voice trailing off, she closed her eyes and stood, leaving to the bathroom as she slowly began to once more compose herself, not caring but feeling the boy's eyes pity and follow her down the hall. Trowa watched her leave, he'd watched the mask shatter as the pain shown brightly through her eyes. Her reasons were justified, the what she'd seen of the war at that age had given her that outlook on life. And he was sorry, he remembered that battle well, he and his friends had gone back to help the civilians and find the missing or help the injured. They couldn't for long and soon had to leave but they'd tried. None of that was meant to happen and he was truly sorry for it all. *End* Shaking the thoughts from his head mentally, the youth returned his gaze back to the four approaching. She wasn't the only one who was orphaned by the war, he and his friends were and he knew that there were others who shared similar stories. Yet, he felt bad for their slip-up, because he felt different about and for her. Duo and Quatre were trying to convince him still that he'd fallen in love or at least puppy-love, yet he only disagreed. Who knew, maybe he was getting his first taste of love. "If you four don't get over here now... Hurry up chicos!" Yelling at the walking forms, she only groaned when they looked up to her and if at all possible, slowed their pace. Laughing softly, Trowa looked up at her. Surprising yes, but he was more open with his emotions and himself about them now. "You don't have to wait, you can go inside you know. I'm pretty sure we'll be fine." Teasing, he watched her pout childishly and only smirked. "I know, but I just can't leave you out here." "Why not," came the curious toned question. That's what Nikki wanted to know. Why couldn't she? Why couldn't she do a lot of things when they were around like her normal self? Or at least when Trowa was around. "I just can't," was her stubborn retort. She knew something was going on with her, she felt different about and around the boy. It wasn't just a crush, she'd had those before, it was something more. "Okay.." Eyeing her skeptically with the word drawn out, the young man stood to greet his friends. "Long time no see." "Oh I know. We've got to get together more often," Quatre joked, smiling softly with a gentle laughter. "Great weather we've got out here, watcha think guys?" Duo spoke as if it were a nice spring day, laughing at Nikki's scowl. "If you don't hurry up, I'll hurt all of you..." Nikki glared at Duo's remark. "Are you loco Señor!?" Staring at Heero who wore a thin, long- sleeve, button-up, soft teal shirt and black jeans, she wanted to smack him! The others had their coats on and were shivering just as badly as she was if not worse. "What?" In question and with a slight curiosity, he watched her. His voice had the same, cold edge yet the girl seemed to pick up keenly on the hints of other emotions hidden within his voice. "Rgh... I'd really smack you upside the head if my hands weren't full right now.." With laughter, she watched his eyes retain hints of confusion along and only laughed harder and shook her head when Duo offered to take the books off of her hands for a few minutes. "I told you I'd take those.." Trowa reminded with a grin. "No. I've got them." Being stubborn, she took another step back, sticking out her tongue in play. "*I've* got them." Turning on her heal, she headed into the school, walking to the Algebra II where she would start off the day. ~£~ First period came and passed, the youth heading to second with her friends yet to a class she didn't mind but didn't like, gym. Stepping back and watching as the ball was set on the other side of the court, Nikki bent her knees and cupped her hands as the ball sailed over the net and towards the back-center. "Mine!" Bumping the volleyball, a girl ahead of her set it before Fohn jumped up and spiked it downwards, hard. The smack of the ball against the wooden floor was all too welcome, though the sound of a girl in the front line falling face first into the court didn't sound like fun. Giggling softly, the youth looked over to the opposite side of the gym. The boys were taking the basketball unit, a game of three on three in process. Heero and Duo were out on the court at the time, though it was rather interesting that they were on opposite sides. Both boys were competitive, to say the least! Wufei and Quatre had already taken their turns, both away from the others and watching the game before them. Trowa was kept out because of his arm, the youth sitting on the pull out bleachers and looking nearly bored to death. Sighing, the young woman was all too gladdened for the called, ten minute break. Trotting over, the young woman hopped upon the bleachers and returned their looks with an innocent smile. Or as innocent as most thought her, for most didn't see the hellion that lay inside. "Having fun mios?" In surprising sarcasm, even for him, the healing boy replied smoothly and with little to no enthusiasm. "Tons."  
  
Laughing softly, Quatre only spoke in return. "You shouldn't go being so "clumsy" then." "Thanks for the support Quatre..." This too dripped of sarcasm, Duo was doing his job in corrupting well. Turning to the girl beside him at her soft laughter, the young man couldn't help but smile. No matter how he forced it from his lips, the reaction never left and he enjoyed hearing her giggles. "You should watch us attempt sports then mio..." Snickering, she caught their curious gazes. The boys had taken to her and her to them quickly, as if they'd been friends for an eternity. Trowa still stayed at her home until he was fully healed, the others finally leaving, with a lot of persuasion to Heero, and did come back each day to visit, for the entire day most times. "You didn't see Leslie take a dive into the floor? You didn't HEAR it?! Oy mi..." Snickering, she watched as Heero and Duo joined them. Waving, Duo returned it with a spunky smile, Heero only glaring yet it softened somewhat as he neared. "Heya, you finally get off?" Calming his breathing and wiping away the sweat with the bottom of his gym shirt, the American boy only laughed softly as Nikki rolled her eyes in teasing. "No mio, I'm just disguised and snuck over here to the guy's side." Her voice held a soft joking. "That's why you fit in so well... don't make half a bad guy.." Duo added without missing a beat. Smacking his arm hard, she continued. "Of course we got a break... you look like you're having fun over here..." Giggling softly as he rubbed his arm, she knew the other kids kept watching the six in curiosity and skepticism. "Dude, this is great!" With a mood swing from his previous pout, Duo clamped his hand down on Heero's shoulder without much thought. Soon though, the youth remembered his mistake when he found himself slammed into the cinderblock wall just off to the side of him, his shirt neck held tightly in Heero's fist. Feeling a pain shoot through his head as it snapped back against the wall, though not as hard as usual, he spoke. "Whoa.. sorry. I kinda forgot man... gimme a lil' credit here.." With a deep glare, Heero had reacted quickly and as was his second nature. A deadly and cold hiss, yet a compassionate warning, or as much as he knew how to express, flowed in the air. "Then you sure as hell better remember next time." For a moment longer he held the submissive boy, then let go and leaned against the corner of the wall, a little further down and away. Watching the boys as it appeared to be nothing, the Mexican youth was rather surprised that the gentle yet protective Heero she saw within her private room and home compared to now was a drastic change. The others weren't even stunned! Ponder whether or not to speak on the subject, she decided against it for safety and remained silent, now wary of Heero's every move. He seemed a completely different person. Quatre knew the scene well enough, Heero had a second nature of defense instilled in him, and it was easy for one to cross that line. Heero didn't mean to hurt a majority of people, but he couldn't really help it. His natural instincts of fight or flight had been tampered with, there was not other option *but* fight. That was all understandable. Yet, sensing the young woman's distress and confusion, along with tension, he decided to change the subject and save face. "Nikki, what class do you have next?" Smile returning as it had dropped, Nikki watched the silent boys. "I've got music chicos." At this, Duo made a face. "Please tell me singing and you're not one of those band geeks..." Snickering, the youth smirked and reached to oh so casually smack his arm again, watching him pull back with a pout and rub the same area again. "We are a band *cult*, we get insulted when you say *band*." "What instrumentation?" Finally, Trowa spoke again, with interest. "I can play a lot of instruments, they're easy to pick up, but mainly woodwinds. I'm a clarinet veteran." With pride, she saw one of the brass players she always teased and shot him a look of arrogance and snootiness. He only flicked her off quickly in teasing and she returned it easily, giggling when the others gave her questioning looks as the boy went about his game. "What, no drums?" Duo joked, turning back to the subject. "A girl who can even keep Heero in check is playing a wimpy instrument?" Smacking him softly upside the head in a casual manner, the young woman only smirked and listened to the others laugh softly. Wufei even gave a quiet snicker or two and catching Heero out of the corner of her eye, she caught small yet visible smile of actual enjoyment. Looking up, the youth gave a soft sigh and quick bye as she had to head back for the last portion of gym class. ~£~ Sitting on top of the desk and looking of the rest of the class, Nikki didn't really feel like being there but of course she had to and she was nearly through the day. Looking down, she yelped and blushed as the others laughed, Duo just seemed out to make her life a pain today as he kept picking on her. "'Ey now!" Trowa only rolled his eyes, Duo was having too much fun being a pain now, yet he was enjoying this himself. "You're really one to talk Duo..." "Hey now, this wasn't about me and don't make me start raggin' on you lover boy." Snickering as he joked, he knew that he and Quatre were getting to Trowa and that it was obvious he had feelings for the Mexican youth. "Duo." The elder sent the boy a warning look and stood, looking about for class to start and the teacher to get here. Standing with a soft sigh, he began down the row of chairs before turning back at a soft call. "Trowa, what are you doing?" Quatre called up after him in question. "Stop worrying so much, I'm just going to get a drink.." Laughing softly, he made his way out to the water fountain, drinking from it as the water was cold and pure before making his way back into the room, yet he was stopped by a call of another young woman and felt the arm of his shirt being tugged at. Turning, he found a skinny red-head with far too tight and seven sizes too small even for her frame, grinning at him and pulling him back with her group of girls. These had to be the preppy talkers who wanted nothing more than twenty boyfriends and a chance to gossip. Humoring them, he spoke. "Can I help you?" Marcy watched over the boy, her eyes wanting as she knew that if she could get with this one, she could get with the group that ignored everyone. She wore gothic clothing, black and morbid and flashed herself like she owned the place, in her mind she did and more, yet she was the typical prep who'd staked out her claim and was willing to fight for him. "Why don't you come sit with us? I'm Marcy." Giggling softly and looking up at him with a wanting smile, she pulled him back further. "Well Marcy, I've got to go, maybe later.." "Oh, they can take care of themselves..." she butted in. Shooting his gaze to the others, he was surprised to see Nikki coming down. He didn't really want to deal with these girls but he didn't feel like making enemies yet. Nikki hopped over the few rows of desks, Marcy may have liked and held an acquaintance with her, yet Nikki by no means felt anything less than an utter loathing towards this girl. Trotting to Trowa's side and leaning against his good shoulder, the youth sent a sphinx-like smirk towards the group of girls. "Hey Trowa, you're awfully slow. I see you've met Marcy and the girls, they're not bad." Of course, the ditzy girls didn't catch one hint of the heavy sarcasm and Marcy only pouted childishly and held onto his arm. Deciding to lay it on, Nikki clung to the same arm in a cuddly manner and leaned her head against his shoulder, smiling as Marcy immediately dropped his arm and sent a small glare her way. "Maybe we can get together later and I can show you around." Again Marcy tried her luck. Smirking and deciding to go for it and act along, Trowa took her hand and leaned down, speaking softly as if he could care less. "Maybe later, though I know my way around pretty well... I'm kinda busy." Looking down to the Mexican youth, his gaze was "lovey dovey" as they say, yet it spoke his gratefulness. Deciding to crush Marcy's attempts before she started again, the youth caught Trowa's gaze and decided to make it once and for all believable. Standing slightly on her tip-toes, she without thought closed her eyes and captured his lips, hearing surprise, laughter, and cheers going up all around the room. What was amazing was that he rebelled for a second or so before hungrily kissing back, holding her there. Nikki sure as hell didn't rebel to this, the sweet taste of his warm and tender lips upon hers all too welcome as he seemed to want the same thing, wrapping his left arm around her lower back and pulling her closer to him still. At this, the girl didn't stop her natural reaction and draped her arms around his neck, feeling him pull only slight from her. Trowa didn't know what was happening, he knew this was an act, at least for the first few moments as he'd planned. Everything just took off from there, and now he held her close to his own body as still he rebelled against it within his mind, loving the taste and feel of her lips against his, her body next to his. No, this wasn't right! He wasn't meant to do this, he was supposed to be the emotionless, empty person that he had been so long ago, only *ever* letting his friends close to him and Cathy if ANYONE! So why couldn't he pull away now? Why did he want to be here now and never end this? Forcing himself to pull from her, he looked down with a regretful smile and felt her leave him, his hand almost going out to take hers in turn and pull her back. NO! This wasn't him! He had to stop this or he'd hurt them as well! Marcy watched in shock, lips parted as she now hated this girl, once she had her eyes on something, she got it. Always. Pursing her lips and tossing her fiery red hair back over her shoulder in annoyance, the young woman looked the other way as the two made their way towards the opposite back corner. She'd have that boy, regardless. Duo couldn't help himself, the youth cracking up so badly that tears were streaming from his eyes and no matter how he wiped each away, three new ones replaced it. "Oh, that's *not* PDA in the least!" Quatre only laughed softly at Duo's helplessness to control himself, catching Trowa's deep blush and only snickering. "No, there's nothing between the two of you," he teased. Heero sat and watched, indifference seemingly in his eyes yet hints of amusement as he turned back to his notepad. He let the others have fun while they had the time, it was always well deserved and they might as well take a breather from the war while they could. It might be the last one they got. Of course, it'd hurt the boy in the end, but this seemed his first experience and he was enjoying it, why not let him? Wufei eyed Trowa in slight shock, surprised at what he'd just done. That had to be a record for ever happening, let alone for two minutes long. 'No, he really *doesn't* like her...' the youth thought to himself, the truth having just surfaced. Taking his seat and feeling his cheeks warm, the youth tried to suppress his emotions and hide his own blushing. Oh, he'd rebel against and deny his own feelings, but in truth he didn't mind that one bit. Not in the slightest. "Hey, she doesn't think I'm single anymore and that works enough. I don't have to put up with that girl." "I'm sure neither of you enjoyed that whatsoever." All eyes turned to Heero as the teacher entered, the bell ringing. Surprise on his features, Duo wanted to start cracking up again after he'd settled. Yet the youth had to remain silent, covering his mouth with both hands and turning red from trying to hold it in, that wasn't something you'd expect from Heero. Deciding to have her fun but help out Trowa, she called softly and leaned down in her seat, using the book rack under Duo's desk as a footstool. "I would have if he hadn't stopped trying to pull away. I don't have cooties and boys grow out of them at the age of twelve mios... at least most do." Smirking, she listened to the others laugh and hid her own, she'd remember that for later.  
  
~£~ Shivering as she drew her jacket tighter around her form, the Mexican youth looked about the masses and throngs of students exiting the tormenting prison they called high school. She was waiting on the others, or at least Trowa, also looking hopefully for her brother's car. It would suck to actually have to walk all the way home in the snow again, who knew what kind of trouble she'd get into this time. "Trowa! You guys!" Shouting and waving, she waited off to the side as they made their way towards her, the youth standing on the concrete picnic table. Repositioning his bag on his left shoulder, though the books resting there were a tad heavy, Trowa was glad to have actually gone to school for the first time in a long time. The two books and notebook that wouldn't fit in his book bag, one of the other's he'd borrowed, Heero picked up without thought or room for rebuttal and carried them. Now that Trowa thought about it, the others were being rather overprotective and worrisome as he recuperated. Why? He wasn't any different than before, or was he in more ways than he realized? And, maybe it wasn't him that changed, it was them. Watching the others depart as Heero left his other books on the table silently, the young man grabbed for them with his good arm. Or tried to at least. Scooping up the books and smirking, Nikki watched Trowa's stunned features. "Looks like Derrick isn't coming and the others already left, we'll have to walk." Starting, Nikki listened to Trowa scramble behind to catch up to her. "I can take these, I'm not helpless.." Offering again, the young man gave a frustrated sigh. He wasn't used to this; being treated like he was helpless wasn't something he enjoyed. "I know." She smirked and turned off the main road of the town as Trowa kept by her side and kept her pace. "You're still healing though..." A yelp of surprise shot from her lips as she slipped on a patch of ice, a quick moment was all she needed to regain her composure and footing, yet felt herself blush deeply in embarrassment. "Ugh... you've got to be joking." Trowa now disgusted with being treated like this, shot back. Yet at her "graceful" movements, he couldn't help but laugh softly as he tried to hide it, calling back in a light-hearted tone. "It's not going to kill me." "Ha! Why is that so ironic?" "What?!" Giggling, the young woman lagged behind slightly and graced her open hand along the snow. Scooping some up and trotting up to his other side, she spoke. "I'm not sure what happened or what you did to get or end up like you were when I found you. Yet I'm not ready to trust you on that now..." Smirking, she raised her hand and dumped the small snow ball down his jacket neck and fell into laughter. "What the?!" Jumping and arching his back away from the cold object, he threw his jacket off and to the ground in a frenzy. Shocked at the sudden stabbing of cold, only to find a clump of snow lay in his jacket and Nikki laughing hysterically. "What was that for?!" Giggling and wiping the tears from her eyes, the youth grinned. "Because I can... besides, it stopped your complaining." Feeling the strict discipline on his soul fall and shatter to the ground, the youth let himself have fun, he could be who he wanted to right now and didn't have to care. Putting his book bag down and scooping up some snow in his left hand, the youth let the mischief he felt show in his smirk as he balled it, making his way to the girl's side. "Now it's "war", I'm going to get you back for that." Stepping back and grinning, the youth shook her head. "Oh really? I doubt that mio." "You do, do you? What? Afraid? Come here.." The snow wasn't that well packed for a reason, the youth tossing it at her and watching her try to dodge, again her yelp amusing and causing him to laugh softly as the snowball hit the tree branch behind her and shattered, raining down snowflakes about her. Thinking she was going to be hit with the snow clump, she jumped hastily but only laughed when the snow fell around her, looking up. "Good aim... or bad aim, whichever. It looks like a snow globe." Snickering and turning to him as he picked his jacket up and put it back on, she eyed. "It didn't hit me." "Yes it did... not directly... each piece of snow that hits you is that many more points for me." Grinning and shrugging, he picked his book bag up again. "I don't want to walk back soaked or something right now, we'll continue this later." "Oh I see how it is." Trotting up to his left side, she pretended to pout. "So, you did like it, didn't you?" "What?!" Caught off guard again, he turned to her in curiosity, his left hand growing slightly cold and stinging. He said he'd get her back and he didn't just dump the snowball from his jacket as she may have thought. "Liked what?" "You kissed back." "Are you out of your mind!?" Playing a role of utter bewilderment, Trowa knew that it was too hard to really hide right now. Of course, he'd seem weird for a normal, teenage guy to deny it, but as himself, he *had* to deny it! "If you mean in acting, then yes." "That wasn't acting," she replied softly, almost stunned and hoping he'd have said that he did. "You've never seen me act." With a normal, cold tone, he hid what he truly felt, he had to to protect her. Protect her? Why just her? Why protecting? Groaning inwardly, he caught the hurt gaze from the girl out of the corner of his eye, yet he didn't move to show that he really noticed. Sighing and keeping her distance, Nikki kept her gaze to the ground, looking up and back, she gave a faint smile at the black car making their way down the road, towards them. "Well, looks like we only had to walk half way..." Looking behind them as well, he realized that his friends were making their way to Nikki's home and they could always get a lift. Stepping to the side of the road as the snow cloud grew behind the car, the car visible, he waited for the car to finally pull over, that of which they did and was surprised Duo was actually driving. "Heya, what are you people doing walking in this weather? We'll pick up the cutie there but you've gotta walk dude.." Teasing the two, Duo smirked and motioned for them to hop in. "I thought you said your brother was coming to pick ya up Nikki." "I did mio, but he probably couldn't get out of work." Jumping in the front and middle, Trowa sat next to the window as he closed the door. Well, with six it was a little crowded, but they'd get a ride home. Thinking, Trowa was silent as the others talked, he'd had to get rid of the snow and he couldn't really get the girl back yet. But something else was there, like the emptiness in his soul gave way to a warmth. And it was true, he had wanted that kiss when Nikki had done so, but it was just *supposed* to be acting. What was so wrong with that? So what if he'd wanted all of that? Maybe they were right, Quatre and Duo, maybe he was having his first taste of love. He'd of course have to deny everything to protect the others, but who said he didn't enjoy and hunger for more of that bitter sweet taste?  
  
A/N: FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NEW CHAPTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, sorry, it took a really really long time to get one up because I've had hundreds of other stories to keep up with and school and everything this one kinda got left behind. Sorry. Here ya go! Hope you enjoy! Again, I'm sorry and I hope that the next one will be up/out soon!  
  
~Silver Seraph 


	8. revamped, SORRY!

Chapter 8  
For Family or Virtues?  
})(  
  
"Okay guys, so what are we up to today? Of course, we've got Sir Gimp-a- lot here, so we can't do too awful much." Duo's "friendly cockiness" earned him a warning glance and a rather coy little snicker from Nikki's side of the room. The others only shook their heads softly and turned away to have no part in this. Who'd blame them? Duo liked to dig his own graves, what else was expected of the God of Death? "Well, if Trowa doesn't shoot you first," began the young woman.  
Here, slipping the words in casually, Trowa added, "that of which I wouldn't mind..." With a quick glance and daring look from Nikki which seemed to settle the boys with surprisingly less commotion, she continued. "I wasn't sure quite what we were going to do. I've got to catch up on some homework, but really now. Who feels like doing that?" The attempt to hide a smile and giggles came from the mumbled yet louder words of, "well, it isn't really that hard, you're just a huge procrastinator," from Quatre was a failure. Nikki knew it was the truth. If truth be told though, she was one of the greatest procrastinators in time. Make it look easy, and have a lucky ace up your sleeve. Either that, or she knew her fate as well as the rest of the pathetic amateurs. Crash and burn. "Thus my point, who really feels like doing that?" Heero sat, propped up with his elbows on his legs, not so much as listening to the debates going on about him, but something much more that was set to plague his mind. This place wasn't bad, not at all. Of course, it'd be odd to just stay here and "settle in", but he didn't mind it. Usually, it was the other way around. Prussian eyes stared before him more at the spot on a tree, just outside the kitchen window from across the living room floor. 'We have to tonight, there is no excuse for Trowa any more. He's drawing out his own healing process longer than it needs to be. If we were to..." "Don't keel over on us there buddy," came from Duo, a little louder as the others had grown concerned. He seemed so easily concentrated on something more, that he didn't even retort to the more witty comments made by the group about him. That itself snapped Heero from his daydream, though, and sent the confused stare straight into his eyes again. "'You feelin' okay?" Wufei knew what was running through Heero's mind, but why was there such a big problem with it? There never seemed to be before. The others hadn't gotten theirs, but Wufei and Heero were sent the new mission. A group mission. The destruction of the Galileo Base where Trowa had recently been held in captivity. It was an easy infiltration, destruction of the data and combative hangers, and then a full fledged demolition by gundam. Why was this one bothering the Perfect Soldier more than any of the others had? It was then that he spoke, as if in affirmation of his own beliefs of the troubled boy's mind. "Heero, are you feeling ill again?" There was no confusion there, as Wufei had questioned Heero before about his constantly worried nature of this mission. Hesitation didn't get a chance to slip in and settle before the Japanese youth gave a small nod and turned his gaze elsewhere. "What's wrong?" Curious, per usual, Nikki spoke after the boy's unspoken answer. "I'm sure we've got something for it either way." "It's nothing to worry about, really." Well, he hadn't expected the girl to offer up her concern on his part, but Heero answered as casually as possible. Wrong thing to ask, Chang. Nikki on the other hand, sat up and persisted. "If you're worried about it being a problem, it's nothing. What's wrong?" Taking to her feet, the teen watched Heero's face, a little surprised by his own slight confusion on the entire subject. "I bet you there's nothing that I don't have anything to get rid of." 'Are women always this persistent?! Think of something, quickly, very quickly.' The first thing that came to his mind left his lips before he could stop the sounds. "I've just been a little dizzy and tired lately. I told you, it's nothing much." 'Please just leave it at that.' Heero really didn't feel like downing any medication right now, let alone something he didn't need, and on an empty stomach. He never usually bothered too much with it. Instant diagnosis, and what she couldn't see in her willingness to help him, was that he and the others all knew he was trying to evade something more. Nikki thought she was just paranoid. Thinking for only a moment before turning to head back towards the closet, she spoke. "I believe we have that... or something that can work for it. Looks like stress." Meanwhile, from Quatre's small corner on the couch as he kept his voice soft and low, came his small amusement. "You've really got to be kidding me." Only in slight confusion, Trowa spoke up on his own, just as quietly. "A new mission, is it?" Heero only nodded, mumbling rude commentaries under his breath. This was going to be odd and a half, especially if the medicine worked other "wonders" on you when you didn't need it. As the mental images came of what he could possibly do or ruin if the medication was strong, Nikki crossed into the room with the dread. "It's fine, it's not that bad, really." "Stop being a baby, it won't kill you." "Why is that the first thing you think of? Something you're not telling us?" Duo attempted to change the subject casually in hopes the girl would forget. Instead, Nikki handed the pills and the two small cups to Heero, the boy reluctant in receiving them. "To make people like you ask questions that make you look like an idiot." Coy and smooth retort, right off the tongue, and well timed. Just like you like 'em. Within one of the small, disposable cups of paper, was simple faucet water to down the other contents he had with. The second cup filled with more weight than the first, held a substance that looked more like thick blood. Slowly, like molasses, it moved at any uneven plane. Bold and deep red was the coloration, while the scent of it was more like that of soggy tree bark. Rolling in the palm of the unmoving hand were two smaller pills, appearing as aspirin, but they held more of a sedative-like mixture within them. A strong gulp, and Heero nearly pushed them away. He didn't like the path this choice was traveling already. Yet another voice stopped him, and he knew it all to be true. They all might look suspicious if otherwise was known, and if Nikki realized she was being lied to. "You answered and dug yourself the grave. Just close the coffin and we'll let it go from there." Trowa spoke up this time, answered by a "smooth one" from Duo and a suggestion of "just get it over with" from Wufei. Still, the young man had to admit, this was a bit amusing. "Will you all stop acting like it's poison?" Nikki stared with more of an indignant gaze at the young men seated in her living room. What was the deal? "Here.." Heero held it off as long as he could, watching the Hispanic youth go to rummage in the kitchen cupboards. After a few minutes and his attempts to "accidentally" get rid of or drop the contents in his hands, she returned with another small bottle. What was he, a lab experiment?! He didn't have any clue as to what this would do to him, let alone what it was for. "Don't tell me I..." Nikki interrupted at this. "No, it's mint flavoring. Do you have a problem with this?" At his hesitation and final shake of the head, she tipped a few of the droplets into the soupy-filled cup, before staring him down. One could swear, it was mother vs. the child. A quick glance, hardly noticeable, was given to the youth's four comrades. If he backed out now, she could find out he was hiding something, easily. Why had he been so stupid as to worry about it now, in front of her? When Nikki's brown eyes narrowed, that was it, bottoms up. The pills were tossed with ease into the back of his throat, swallowed before he had time to think, or time to taste them dissolving. A flush of water followed it instant, and then came the interesting part. The second cup was tipped at his lips, the mint flavor and smell strong and gagging. Quatre couldn't help but watch with a cringe and worried smile in place the entire time. Heero took the medication well enough, though he became more concerned when the youth had to stop and swallow hard a few times just to clear his throat. The rest of the water he had followed almost instantly. Interesting little ordeal, now isn't it? Yet still, in the end, he couldn't help but to be a little amused himself. Shivers ran down his spine as if on instinct, and Heero looked the other way, dropping the cup to the table. It was like swallowing smoke and fire, it didn't disappear. The taste was like grass and mint and dirt, but almost instantly settled any paranoid feelings he had. Still, the concern over what would happen plagued him, at least for the moment. Duo meanwhile, crossed his glance back towards Heero's form who didn't find the medication too appealing. "You still breathing over there buddy?" A glare was sent his way in response, as well as a quick and sharp slap in the upper shoulder by the young woman. "Guess so." Trowa only but shook his head with a faint smile playing over his lips; this would be quite the interesting night. "So, what exactly were you planning there, Nikki?" If they didn't change the subject, Heero might find the coordination to injure Duo for his comment. That, and for Quatre's soft snickering in the corner. It was as if the idea of actually doing something was an entirely new concept to the girl, and for a moment, she was quiet in thought. She had enough money to go out with the guys for the night, which in and of itself, was more rare these days than anything. Her brother wasn't home to care much about it, again at work as he always was. Derrick couldn't really stop her with that. An idea dawned on her then and her hazel-chocolate eyes lit up with a mischievous little flame. "There's nothing to eat here, even if the fridge is half full. I'm getting tired of the 'broke foods" here. Why don't we go out? I know a pretty good place just in town, and the movies are right by it. It'll easy enough, we can easily go to the arcades." Food, movies, and games. Well, what a surprise! Duo instantly piped up at this with the exclamation of, "It's pure brilliance!" "He does know how to use big words..." came the muffled retort from Wufei. HE liked being a smart-ass, it was interesting to see everyone's reaction. Besides that, he'd always been one at heart, just not much to joke about. "Hey now! I can be smart when I want to be, but usually I just tend to be a smart-ass before anything els-" A slap in the arm once more stopped him. "Watch it in this house, I already told you." Nikki liked to hold more of an intellectual speed in the house. "Wait a minute, you were going on and about it last time with Fohn and half of the words that came out of your mouth were worse than THAT!" Here, Duo attempted to defend himself, even if he knew that it wouldn't really be of any help later on. Things like that just didn't work in his favor, women were always right, even if they were wrong. "That's because it came out of mine, not yours. I'm allowed." A coy smirk twisted her lips and the youth caught the smiles and laughter from the others. Duo didn't seem to find it as fnny, too bad. Hi sonly problem was that he couldn't stop his own little grin from tracing his lips. "Jee, thanks a lot mom." Turning, he dodged the next slap with a little jeering laughter. "Problems?" Nikki pursed her lips to keep from giggling and managed through more than just gritted teeth, "No, just worried for your mental instability and how much trouble it'll cost you." "All right, before we've got another World War here," intruded Quatre who had managed to stand and break apart the two challengers. THe young American mumbled something along the lines of "thanks for saving her the humiliation" while Nikki just snickered and stepped back. "it does sound like a good idea and like fun. To go out for the night. But if we don't go now, we'll never get going and then we'll never make through the night with you two." Trowa stood, using the support from the arm of the chair and only swayed a moment. It was as if OZ had beaten the entire of his balance out of him in interrogation. Yet after a moment's pause he stood perfectly fine, readjusting his arm within the sling. It was evident that Trowa didn't like the contraption or the constant restriction of using the limb. Things like that just weren't natural to him. Still, he never told the girl or the others that the arm was feeling much better with little to no pain or trouble to himself. Unconsciously, he knew that his time to relax and be normal was drawing closer to an end. He'd nearly spent a month at the Hernandez's already. It was getting to the point where he'd have to go back to the battlefield. The major question was, could he force himself to go back to that life? "Well then, we should probably get going. Your brother won't mind, will he?" Trowa had become familiar with the "do's" and "don'ts" around Derrick himself. Usually, he'd question his little sister. Cocking her head his way, Nikki watched Trowa a moment more. He seemed to be dwelling on something that he didn't care for in the slightest. Like a nightmare he o confront to figure out what exactly it was. Drawing out the first word, she only gave up on her own questions of what these guys were so depressed about. "I'm the one that offered and I'm sure he won't have a problem; he's never home anyway. That, and he'll be away for a while--in training." "Training?" This came from Heero, finally. He didn't like the sound of the word itself, but maybe he was just overreacting. "We can't afford much anymore. He... He's signed into the federation as a soldier in training--for the OZ federation." The words felt dirty in her mouth and on her lips; nasty and putrid. She continued, unseeing of the large cringe that swept over the five before her, gazing stead at the ground. "He already signed up and the starting pay they've offered to him is rather high. We just," Nikki began to trail off in her speech. She was admitting to her loss of pride now. "We can't get by anymore. I don't want to drop out, but I've offered so I can get a job. That, and if mi hermano keeps this job, it'll be the only one he needs. He won't have to work so hard anymore." The lump in Trowa's throat was swallowed hard and he nearly choked on the air that came back in its place. 'Why of all things?!' "Where is he stationed?" As he spoke, the tone was made as casual as possible in only a "curiousness". Flopping half-heartedly into the lazy boy and attempting to recall the information her brother had quickly rattled off before his departure, she spoke in a more depressed manner now. Much like the five teens before her seemed to have felt. "The Napoleonic Base. Only about an hour's drive from here. From there, he's being sent to Fort Briarton." Wufei settled and released the tension in his body at her answer, yet not in full. "I've heard of it." That's all he said in turn while the others still kept silent. He was just glad that it wasn't the Galileo Base. It'd be just what they needed to complicate everything over. Quatre, however, didn't really seem too interested in relaxing just yet. This wasn't good. He didn't want to hurt Nikki or her brother; they were the last of their family line. They were all each other had left. Yet, the way the war turns, he didn't want to be the one that ended up putting her through the same pain he suffered when his father left them. "I don't think... can't he find any other jobs? I mean, you've already expressed your feelings about this war. And it'd be dangerous, being put out on the field. I think the specialists are the only ones that get the "office jobs" and..." With a growl, the young woman snapped back without meaning for her words to be that malicious. "We can't do anything about that now that we're on our own. Besides, what else could we do?" The slightest cringe of the boy silenced her words and replaced it with a deep sigh, only giving a moment's hesitation before continuing. She hated to admit that they didn't have the money; that they had to scrap for groceries each week to every other week. Besides that, she was also admitting that she couldn't hate the war without being a part of it now. That she couldn't stay like she'd tried to stay out of the condemned fighting in any and every way. Before Nikki could get out another word, it appeared possibly of apology, a voice spoke that surprised everyone just a little more. "Sorry if I'm really interrupting your entire soap opera here, but the rest of us as bystanders are getting rather bored. What are we going to do?" Heero shot it off easily and with a casual air, having managed to get up and get himself, as well as Duo, a glass of water without being caught. "We've already gone through three conversations here and you're still not done?" Picking up the glass, he only sipped at the contents absentmindedly, his tone rather calmed and almost innocent in a sarcastic way. Duo couldn't help a few snickers of his own while watching the others. This was entertaining, and the others hadn't seemed to notice it a bit. While the three were busy conversing over the matters of Nikki's brother, Wufei, Duo, and Heero had easily taken to a conversation of their own. The original was how many mood-swings the young Hispanic woman would have within the next ten minutes. They counted at least five. That, and the medication Nikki had given Heero that he really didn't need, most likely aided in his willingness to add his own input on the random and unimportant conversation. "Yeah guys, we've already decided the movie, the meaning of life, and how to skip out of the next five months of classes that are left and get away with it. Aren't you all done yet?" They'd have time to take in the new information later on how to deal with the war without hurting Derrick. They couldn't give themselves away in public, or to the young woman for that matter. Nikki stopped her attempt to defend herself, pondering the intrusion of the conversation. It was then that she only shook her head and gave a little smile to the watching eyes. Quatre seemed to move right along with the conversation and the mood. "Interesting, though I think that we're a little late for the first showing. We could just grab something more to eat." Quatre was a little surprised still to watch at how much everyone s relaxing and opening up at the time. It was odd when he'd known the others almost completely differently for nearly a year now. That, and he noticed that Trowa's movements had managed to bring him a bit closer towards Nikki's side when the "argument" had taken place. This was going to be hard on him when the time came to return to battle. He just didn't know exactly how much this would hurt the poor guy. "Sounds good. Well, should we then?"  
-- Duo placed the virtual controls down on the "Spy-ware 2" game and finally let the next kid in line on the platform. He'd shown off just a little too much for the crowd to watch. Really, who knew that infiltration "missions" came so naturally to the boy? "At least this time the detonator works," came the muffled comment of the American youth. The young man's voice trailed off as the search started once again for another game. The arcade itself was an entire game-plex with nearly every possible choice and no repetition of any games. Well, except for the seven car line-up for the old Nascar raceway. It was here, among the sites, sounds, lights, and laughter that the group dwelled. "Dark-hearts and Demons" had already started by the group's timely arrival, so dinner was moved to first on the agenda. Cobalt eyes peeked in a friendly manner across the game rooms to find that he was not the only one in search. It appeared that Quatre had just tested the virtual roller coaster simulator. Duo had already been on it at least four times since they arrived. "Where'd the others disappear to?" A few steps and Quatre easily caught up to Duo, resting side by side. Hands that still held a shakiness in them brushed back at the stubborn bangs in his view. "Not for sure myself. Heero was messing with the "Safari Mayhem" when I last saw, and Wufei was looking towards the simulator." At the mention of the machine, a smile played quietly over his lips. Laughter came and mischievous eyes found their goal as Duo nodded and led the aristocrat away. What his eyes caught was the game of DDR; music blasting in a techno mix from mounted speakers while the dance pattern lit up in demonstration. "Yeah, I hit up all of those already, but lemme guess; the lovebirds ain't here?" Sofly, Quatre nodded while inserting the playing card and prepared himself. "he's not going to like leaving..."  
  
"I know, man." Duo matched the dance steps as they progressed and got faster, Quatre doing the same. "Neither do I, but we've gotta be reasonable here. We both know he can use that arm just fine." Oops, small slip up. the game took away a few possible points. "Then someone has to let him know that." Heero had caught the two and stood at the rail's edge, watching Duo spook and nearly fall; or rather, jump from the platform. "And you came from where, Mary Poppins?" Again, the cocky youth dropped back into his groove but not before really biffing the last few moves. "Who?" the name didn't sound familiar to the Japanese boy and he was a tad irritated at being called a woman's name. "It's... nothing, Heero. A ... joke." Quatre's voice became a little breathless as he kept it up; barely. Things were starting to get really fast paced. "Fine, but you're right. He knows it as well as we do and he's playing this off for far too long." Quatre finally pulled out of the game, slaughtering the last move. Duo kept up, but slipped up badly, too, before he could beat his challenger's score. "So, who's going to do it?" An uneasy look was exchanged between Duo and Quatre, but finally it was the young American that spoke. "You guys probably are on better terms with each other, Quatre. Still, it's not like we can be nice about this either." "Ill try," spoke the Arabian youth reluctantly. "Although, I'm not sure this is going to be easy even if I do or don't tell him what we've come to a conclusion on."  
-meanwhile- The two had decided, more so under Trowa's own reasons, that the game rooms were too hot and noisy. It was because of this that the duo sat out in the crisp air of a late winter evening on the balcony. "It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't so cold out," came a soft musing from the young woman. Nikki was huddled in her own coat and watched the misty breath float with each of her words. Another attempt was made at a conversation, each of the previous ones ending uncomfortably with just as uncomfortable of a silence. Trowa himself sat perched on the railing, looking out over the grounds and further past them to the snowy fields. He'd become so accustomed to being relaxed, that he was letting himself enjoy it to the fullest. "That's always a problem. If it weren't so cold or so warm, it'd always be perfect." A small chuckle came at that, "but then, it'd loose all its beauty." At one time, he would have been rather irritated at the idea of his personal boundaries being crossed so often and so carelessly. Yet now, he listened to Nikki come closer, her shivering form huddled against his shoulder and back, her chin resting against his shoulder like a leaning post. The grin spread into a small smile. "Do you want to go back inside?" "Maybe later." Still, as she spoke, she forced the stutter from her voice and huddled a little closer to his warm frame. "You're a human heater... the one and only. Doesn't the cold bother you? I mean, even after everything.." A small shake of the head followed as he turned back from his watchful and careful eyes. "You get so used to it, it's natural and becomes numb to you. Space is like that often. It's just as beautiful as the earth, but it's always so cold..." He didn't realize he slipped up right away. His earlier story was that he was another war orphan with the others, and he wasn't lying about that. Yet he told her they'd been given a grant and financial aid to help them live on their own as well as Quatre's own fortune helping them. "You never told me you've been to space. What's it like?" The young woman was too cold to think, and so let it go for the time. So he told her all he could, telling her they'd gone to visit the Winner Estate when they were younger. Or, at least told her what "his" past was. What else could he tell her? Yet at his descriptions of the stars and space he'd seen and known, he felt a little more proud as her eyes lit up or when she'd seem lost as if she were there with him. It was then that his mind began to wander back to his meeting with Midi Une and her words. Then, he'd had to be cold and heartless, the world did not show him mercy nor did it seem to want him at all. He wasn't shown any compassion in his eyes, and that's the way he returned it all. Now he found it a little different. It was more than just sisterly affection that Cathy showed him, or more of the friendly, brotherly affection from the other pilots. He realized that he was falling in love, and he wanted it more than anything. "I want to see space someday. We've never had the money to travel, or anywhere to stay. I'm not even sure what I'd do there." Another sigh released another mist of warm breath onto the air. Out of nowhere, a previous occasion popped into her mind, and so she brought it up for conversation. Once again, the one of before had collapsed into a dead end. "You have to admit, since no one else is out here. You liked it." Choking on a breath of winter air, he turned to the close, but smug look of the devious young woman. What was she talking about now? "Excuse me?" "Ticking off Marcy. I've always hated that little wench, but for some reason, she didn't see my death threats as anything more than a "friendly note" until that day." The vision was still clear in Nikki's mind of the second girl's face. Fiery red hair premed on over-kill and her cheeks flushed brighter than her hair in loathing jealousy. She knew he'd deny the kissing part. No one ever kiss and told. Even if she admitted one day without thought that she wouldn't mind doing it again with the boy. Just as she'd admitted in casual conversation without a hesitation, Trowa had a small confession of his own. The worst part was, he couldn't stop his mouth before he could think about what she asked, only because he had the flustering event on his mind. "To tell you the truth, I will admit, I did like the kiss.." It was the her turn now to choke on her breaths. What? "Ahem. Mind telling me in further extent? What brought that out of you?" Giggles were hidden behind a coy smirk. It was rather comical now to watch him attempt to take the words back, flustered and blushing a deep shade of crimson. It wasn't even just red anymore. "No, I thought... but you can't.. that wasn't..," came the struggle to deny it once again but all was in vain. Trowa lost it, an relaxing this much, he was letting everything slip. The excited amusement hung in the air and the giggling laughter finally bubbled out of the girl. Still, she couldn't help but push it a little further in teasing. "You know, you look really adorable when you're this confused. I'm sure you've practiced those puppy-dog eyes..." The childish pout and even more confusion in his features had the girl clinging to the railing, reeling in a fit of laughter. What was she talking about? He was confused and flustered and still attempted to figure out what he had just said that he didn't realize how pathetic he was acting. Why had he just blurted that out? Trowa hadn't even consciously realized he cared for the kiss. Not really, anyway. "No, I don't. Look... Knock it off already." The hardest part was trying to keep a straight face. He didn't know why he couldn't help trying to grin. "All right, be that way." With a smoothing of her shirt and a slight shiver, the youth sat in one of the plastic chairs and watched him for a moment more. Trowa almost didn't know whether he wanted to be mad or laugh it off, or so she found while watching him. With it, she took up shaking again to pass the time and hugging herself to warm up. "Don't worry, I'll keep it a secret." That's what worried the boy. After her "reassuring statement", she'd added a small wink to it. "Right, I'll never live this down. Thanks." Sarcasm, the favorite tool of the cocky. Her continual shivering set him slightly at the edge of guilt. She didn't have to wait out there with him, he just preferred the quiet. She wasn't even using her half hour game card and left it to the other four to decide who could use it. Stepping up behind the youth, he stripped the jacket easily from his own shoulders, laying it across hers. Nikki instantly sank beneath the warmth of the second jacket, grinning a little more. Yet still, her eyes glanced at the small watch on her wrist, before the young woman stood. "Well, looks like you won't have to "freeze for valor" too much, wonder boy. We should be getting across the street." Another smirk came to the now composed features of the young pilot, not minding the cold quite yet. "Or rather, pull them from their games. I think they've found themselves quite at home..." Turning back at the challenge of another conversation, Nikki let their close space stay as was for the time. "In other words, we should ditch them?" "Probably." Small laughter came at the thought. The others might not even notice they ever left. In truth, the young man was actually starting to get a little irritated that the other four hung around so often. It was as if they were the younger siblings hanging around big brother while he was trying to be independent. Still, it took a moment for him to realize just how completely close they were. Nikki lay against his chest as a few yawns overcame her, not really too uncomfortable with the distance lost between the two. He was like a heater and she was frozen from the winds. It wasn't like he was pulling away anytime soon. Instead, she tensed at feeling a strong arm wrap around her back and she only closed her eyes in security. "So, wanna? Or wanna just sit here? I'm comfy." "Thanks a lot, I'm now a public pillow." Yet still, the boy did not move, watching the glass doors as one of his comrades would pass it from time to time, it appeared in search for them. They must not think the two would be outside this late at night. Funny, usually one would expect them to need dragging out of the game rooms. Nikki leaned up, watching him with a grin. "Sure. That, and you said you didn't mind it. We already know I didn't. What the hell, why not go again?" Without giving the boy time to process what he was thinking, though she wasn't quite sure what made her so confident, Nikki leaned up and softly captured his lips once again. Trowa froze in place, dumbfounded once more at how sudden the action was and how outgoing Nikki was. Heck, this was the second time he'd been kissed and all without his consent. Still, the warmth, the odd feeling of it, the closeness of the young woman, it was all so welcome to him. Giving a faint sigh against her lips, he leaned down on his own without control or care of his actions any longer, and let what he'd wanted for so long flood through. A chance to be normal. A chance to give and gain affection. A chance to feel safe and secure and love it all. To feel and be loved. Heero leaned against the counter wall, watching the two and motioning towards his other three companions. He'd been watching for a small while and saw how they acted. The worst part he felt was the nagging of guilt when he knew that the boy would have to be pulled away from where he felt so comfortable. It wasn't able to be helped though, he just knew that this was going to hurt. But would Trowa be able to see the logic that they weren't meant to live these lives, that they were meant to fight and suffer so no one else had to. Or would he break apart and attempt to live what none of them were destined to? 'I'm sorry friend, but you've grown too attached. It's time to leave.' Silver Seraph's Note: Okay okay, I know, it's been an eternity since I last updated this. I ran out of full muse, almost lost the entire plot line, and have been so crammed trying to get all my musicianship honors and participating concerts along with advanced classes of school and now being a 2005 SENIOR! (go me!) I've had a hard time trying to get to this. That, and writing my books I'm hoping to send into a publisher for possible admittance into the literary world of authorship. So.... wish me luck! And I've been working on my writing style as well, having help from my college writing and communications course. All right, I'll work on the next one for this, I'm trying to finish them all! That, and I need to pump out a new chapter for "A Diamond So Dark", finish "Dreams Come True", and I think there's another one.... ugh... goes and attempts to do so, having spent 6 hours on the computer and it is now just a little after midnight on the next day 


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